Darus Suharto could’ve been a blast from the past: the former accountant based out of Toronto, Canada gained entry to the WSOP Main Event by first winning an $80 satellite on Poker Stars. He parlayed that victory into another Poker Stars satellite victory; a $640 tournament for a Main Event package. Accountant, satellite entry into the WSOP Main Event paid for by Poker Stars – this could be easily mistaken for Chris Moneymaker’s pre-Main Event victory resume. While Suharto’s story didn’t end like Moneymaker’s – in a Main Event victory – his 6th place finish for $2,449,269 more than likely eased his pain.
In an interview with PokerNews, Suharto had some interesting comments and a story regarding Moneymaker:
“When I began playing in 2005, I didn’t know anything about the WSOP. I didn’t know anything about Moneymaker. I joined Poker Stars, and saw this ‘WSOP’. I asked, ‘What is this WSOP?’ So I researched the WSOP, and saw it was, like, the biggest tournament. I just tried to satellite and I won the seat, and people said stuff about this Chris Moneymaker. So I looked up this Chris Moneymaker, and I went ‘Oh my gosh, he turned $39 into $2.5 million.’ Wow, you know? It gave me hope, and he was an accountant – you want to hear something funny about it? I met Chris Moneymaker at EPT London. He talked to me, and I said, ‘Hey Chris, I’m an accountant,’ and he said, ‘Oh you’re the other accountant at the final table!’ We got to talk, and he asked me if I worked for an accounting firm, and I said, ‘Yes, I actually worked for Deloitte and Touche for three years.’ The funny thing is, he said he actually worked for Deloitte and Touche as well… for three years. ‘Oh my God,’ I said. ‘We’re brothers!'”
Darus Suharto is a smiler: ear to ear, beaming all of the time. He is possessed of that most endearing of qualities so often lost on many gnarled poker pros – gratitude.
