News / nono / 24 June 2008 / Leave a comment

The 2008 $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em champion is David Woo, a.k.a. "The Magnificent." He is a 30-year-old poker pro from Atlanta, GA. Woo has been playing poker full-time for about five years.

Woo was born in South Korea. He graduated from Georgia State University.

Woo owned an operated a small coffee shop before taking up poker. He played poker recreationally at night and then woke up early each morning to open his store. After awhile, Woo was making more money with his poker game, so he decided to give up the small business.

Woo enjoys gambling. He once made a $50,000 side wager with a friend on a basketball court. Incredibly, Woo made a bet that he could make at least 80 of 100 three-pointers. Since Woo stands no more than about 5'5" tall and does not look like much of a basketball player, the wager seemed hopeless. Woo, who perfected a three-point shot while a student at Georgia State, ended up making more than 80 percent of the shots and collected on the bet.

Woo was given his nickname "The Magnificent" by none other than Josh Arieh, a two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner from Atlanta. Arieh plays regularly with Woo in home games and gave him his complimentary moniker.

Woo won $631,656 for first place. This was also his first WSOP gold bracelet victory. This marked his fourth time to cash at the WSOP, all since 2005.

Woo finished in the money at the 2006 WSOP Main Event. He took 132nd place. He had a serious shot at going much deeper what stands as the biggest poker tournament of all time, as he was one of the chip leaders after Day Four. Unfortunately, when second in chips to Jamie Gold, he lost a huge pot and was never able to recover his stack.

"Every time I play poker is a learning experience," Woo said afterward.

"I would have been sick with anything less than first place," Woo said. "I really expected to win."