World Poker Tour

Hung La

Birthplace
Saigon, Vietnam

Hometown
Los Angeles, CA

Birthday
December 15

Total Winnings
$574,664

For having such a long and illustrious career in poker, not much is known about the private life of Hung La. He has managed to maintain a low profile during the decades in which he has played the game. This is the way he seems to prefer his life, as he focuses on his family " he has four children " and concentrates fully on poker when he's working.

Being related to Men "the Master" Nguyen as a cousin, however, may have had something to do with Hung's many years of continued success. Discussing strategy and money management with one of the legends of the game has helped him work steadily, seriously, and patiently to achieve a sense of pride in his own accomplishments in poker. He spent years grinding at the cash games in Los Angeles card rooms, and by the mid-1990's, he began entering tournaments.

Hung claimed his first tournament victory in 1998 at the California State Poker Championship in the $300 limit hold'em event, but it wouldn't be until 2000 at the World Series of Poker when people outside of Southern California would start to notice this up-and-comer. He cashed in two events that year, including one final table in the $5000 limit hold'em event. But in 2004, the international poker community would know his name when he appeared on the World Poker Tour. He made it to the Doyle Brunson North American Championship final table, finishing in fifth place for $120,000, and several months later, he was again on the set of the WPT. The final table saw him with even more determination, and he placed third at that L.A. Poker Classic main event to claim $444,312 in prize money " by far the largest win of his career. Rest assured, Hung will be seen at more final tables in the near future.