Minh Ly
Minh Ly is a Vietnamese-American poker player who was born on March 24, 1967 in Vietnam. Minh Ly immigrated to the United States in 1986 and settled in Las Vegas, working two jobs to make ends meet. He worked as a cook at a Chinese restaurant and as a poker dealer.
Minh Ly began to play poker, and after five years of losing or breaking even he finally became a consistent winner. He moved up through the stakes and quickly found himself playing high stakes poker at the $4000-$8000 game alongside Doyle Brunson and other famous poker players. It was Doyle who suggested to Minh Ly that he should start playing in tournaments.
Minh Ly had his first money finish at the World Series of Poker in 2001, when he finished 3rd in the $3000 Limit Texas Holdem event. He had one other WSOP cash that year as well. In 2002 Minh finished 9th in the WSOP Main Event, and in 2005 he had a second place finish, losing to the legendary Doyle Brunson in the $5000 Shorthanded No Limit Holdem event. Also during the 2005 WSOP, Minh Ly challenged Mike Matusow to a poker duel, saying that Mike threw him off his game, causing Minh to finish 19th in the WSOP Main Event.
Also in 2005, Minh Ly won his first World Poker Tour Event, the 2005 World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship. Before the event, Doyle had predicted that Minh would come out victorious. As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3.2 million, with World Series of Poker cashes accounting for $1,723,204 of those winnings.
Minh Ly currently lives in Temple City, California with his family. While not often recognized, he is one of the best poker players in the world.
