When PokerStars introduced the Moneymaker Millionaire during the 2006 WSOP, everyone in the company was really excited about the chance to let someone follow 2003 WSOP champion Chris Moneymaker into history. While Chris turned his $40 satellite into a main event bracelet and 2.5 million dollars. (Chris also started the current internet poker boom, which in turn started the overall poker boom, but don't tell anyone at the World Poker Tour that.)

The Moneymaker Millionaire was a simple idea: enter a free tourney, and just outlast over 800,000 other hopefuls, through three rounds of tournaments, ending in a three table tourney at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure this week.

The eventual winner is Canada's own Quillan Nagel, who took a break from preparing to defend his master's thesis next week to head down to Atlantis for the tourney.

His story is great, and is covered in greater detail by Brad and Michelle Willis at the Official Pokerstars Blog, but I'm quoting my absolute favorite bit right here:

When a reporter asked why he thought Canadians are better at poker than Americans, Quillan said, "It's because when it's cold and there's nothing better to do than play poker."

That explains so much, now that I think of it . . . right Hoy and Joanne?