Defending World Series of Poker champion Chris Moneymaker has been knocked out of the tournament.

The darling of the poker world lost all his chips three hours after the 35th annual tournament got under way Saturday at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas.

Moneymaker, 28, said Lady Luck was nowhere to be found in the No-Limit Texas Hold 'em event.

His stack of chips was decimated after another player caught a major break and landed one of only two cards that could have beat Moneymaker.

"It happens," Moneymaker said Sunday. "It was bad luck."

The poker phenom won $2.5 million when he snatched first place last year. The victory turned the former accountant from Spring Hill, Tenn., into an instant celebrity and helped fuel a countrywide poker craze.