Chris Moneymaker Joins Cards & Clubs Invitational with Special Heads-Up Challenge
Poker Hall of Famer and 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion will join the inaugural Cards & Clubs field at PGA National and take on Founding Team participants in a special challenge during poker night.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Poker Hall of Famer Chris Moneymaker will join the inaugural Cards & Clubs Invitational January 11–13, 2027 at PGA National Resort, adding one of poker’s most recognizable personalities to the new golf-and-poker experience.
Moneymaker’s victory in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event helped change the trajectory of modern poker. After qualifying through an $86 online satellite, he went on to defeat a field of 839 players and win the $2.5 million Main Event title, inspiring a wave of new players that became known as the “Moneymaker Effect.” He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019.
At Cards & Clubs, Moneymaker will be part of an evening designed to make poker competitive, social and accessible — including a special Heads-Up Challenge that will give participants the opportunity to sit across the table and compete against the poker legend.
THE HEADS-UP CHALLENGE
Following the day’s golf competition on The Champion, the Masters Ballroom at PGA National Resort will transform into a private poker room centered around a social, tag-team No-Limit Hold’em tournament.
Running alongside the main tag-team poker tournament, each Founding Team will have an opportunity to send one of its participants into a short-form heads-up match against Moneymaker at a dedicated table.
The challenge will take place throughout the evening and remain completely separate from the main tournament standings, giving teammates who are not currently playing another way to get directly into the action.
Participants who defeat Moneymaker will receive a custom Cards & Clubs Heads-Up Challenge keepsake recognizing the accomplishment, with additional prizes and experiences to be announced as the Invitational approaches.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF POKER NIGHT
This is not a real-money poker tournament. Instead, poker serves as the second competitive half of the Cards & Clubs experience, with each team’s poker finish combining with its golf result to help determine the overall Invitational champion.
Each four-person Founding Team will have two active tournament seats, with teammates able to tag in and out throughout the evening. The format is intentionally flexible, allowing participants to play as much or as little as they want while teammates socialize, watch the action, offer advice and enjoy the surrounding hospitality.
Poker instruction will be available before play for participants with limited experience, while cocktail tables, an open bar and premium dinner service will surround the tournament floor.
“The goal is to make poker night one of the most fun parts of the entire experience, whether someone plays all the time or barely plays at all,” said Tom Wheaton, founder of Cards & Clubs Invitational. “Having Chris there takes that to another level. He helped introduce an entire generation to poker, and now our guests may have the chance to sit across from him heads-up. That’s exactly the kind of memory we want Cards & Clubs to create.”
“Golf and poker have always had a lot in common,” Moneymaker said. “There’s strategy, patience, pressure, decision-making and a competitive side to both, but they’re also games that naturally bring people together. Cards & Clubs is connecting those two worlds in a really interesting way, and I’m excited to help make the poker side something both experienced players and newcomers can enjoy.”
TWO GAMES. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP.
The tag-team poker tournament will determine the poker portion of the Cards & Clubs standings, while the day’s 18-hole golf competition will establish the golf ranking.
The combined results will determine the inaugural Cards & Clubs Invitational champion.
The winning four-person team will raise the Cards & Clubs Cup, each player will receive an individual Cards & Clubs championship belt, and the team will receive complimentary invite into the second Cards & Clubs Invitational to return and defend its title.
Additional prizes, gifts and experiences will be announced leading into the event through Cards & Clubs and participating partners.
THE INAUGURAL FIELD
The Moneymaker announcement comes as Cards & Clubs continues assembling its inaugural field for January at PGA National Resort.
Since launch, Cards & Clubs has entered active Founding Team and partnership discussions with notable companies across gaming, sports, technology, financial services, consumer, lifestyle and other categories.
Cards & Clubs expects to begin announcing its first inaugural Founding Teams in the coming weeks as participating brands are finalized.
The field is intentionally limited, with each Founding Team receiving four flexible positions for the executives, clients, strategic partners, ambassadors, creators or other guests most important to its business.
Companies interested in exploring one of the remaining Founding Team positions are encouraged to begin the conversation while the inaugural field is being assembled.
The inaugural Cards & Clubs Invitational will take place January 11–13, 2027 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
ABOUT CARDS & CLUBS INVITATIONAL
Cards & Clubs Invitational is a private, invitation-only destination experience bringing together golf, poker, business and hospitality through a combined team competition. Built around a limited field of Founding Teams and invited participants, Cards & Clubs gives executives, clients, partners, talent and guests the opportunity to compete and connect from the fairway to the final table.
The inaugural Invitational will take place January 11–13, 2027 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Cards & Clubs Invitational is produced by Above the Felt Entertainment, the poker marketing, partnerships and talent agency founded by Tom Wheaton.
