Maria Ho was born in Taipei, Taiwan and is a Professional Poker Player and TV host/personality. With over 2.6 million dollars in poker earnings she is currently ranked the 2nd female poker player in the world. With notoriety in both the entertainment and poker industries, she is widely recognized for being the Last Woman Standing at the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, where she finished 38th out of 6,358. A feat she repeated in 2014. In 2011, Ho broke records at the World Series - for the largest cash a woman has ever had at the WSOP, when she took 2nd place in the $5,000 No-Limit Event for a $540,020 payday. Outside of poker, Maria is known for appearances on the Emmy Award winning 15th season of The Amazing Race and made it to "Hollywood Week" on season three of American Idol. She is also the Celebrity Spokesperson for the WinStar World Casino, was the season 9 and 10 strategic commentator on the Heartland Poker Tour, and as of 2015 it was announced that she'll co-host Poker Night In America: The Tour. Maria's extensive resume of live and online results include 32 World Series of Poker cashes, 3 WSOP final tables, 4 World Poker Tour cashes, a WPT final table, and 5 other final tables on the professional poker tour. One of the most respected women in the game, Maria has shared her knowledge as on-camera host for WSOP.com, a commentator for the live WSOP final-table broadcasts on ESPN 360, and as a writer for several poker publications, which include a monthly column in Bluff Magazine and a chapter contribution in the book Winning Women of Poker: Secret Strategies Revealed. Fluent in Mandarin and born into a traditional Chinese family, the younger of two daughters, no one ever expected Maria to become a professional poker player, but poker and performing were always in the cards. When Maria was four-years-old her family moved from Taiwan to the United States, eventually settling just outside of Los Angeles in Arcadia, California. Growing up in a musically gifted family, she developed a love for singing and performing. She learned to play many instruments as a child, including piano and violin. In her teen years, Maria performed with her sister's band, Another Sky at various music gigs in Los Angeles. When Maria attended the University of California, San Diego for college, with a major in Communications and a minor in Law, she continued to pursue her passion for music as a member of UCSD's A capella group the D.O.T.s. She also performed in several of the school's musicals, including The Marriage of Figaro and Anything Goes. It was in college that Maria was introduced to playing poker. She was drawn to the psychology and competitive spirit of the game and soon went from playing games with college friends, to playing Limit cash games at nearby Indian casinos. By the time Maria graduated from UCSD in 2005, she had gone from playing low limits to high stakes cash games and had grown her poker bankroll to the point that she felt confident to embark on a career as a professional poker player. A skilled and respected gamer, Maria has received invitations to play in the World Team Poker Invitational (where her team, Team China took 1st place in 2010) as well as the World Mahjong Tour in Hong Kong, playing the traditional Chinese game of Mahjong with fellow celebrities from China and Taiwan. She has also been seen as a panelist on Anderson Cooper 360 and in 2010 the WinStar World Casino named her their Celebrity Spokesperson. Maria currently resides just outside of Los Angeles, California. When she isn't traveling the poker tournament circuit or for events she can be seen singing at Hollywood music gigs, devoting her time to charity and working with her family's successful real estate firm. - IMDb Mini Biography By: TTBM PR
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Was a member of the UC San Diego a cappella group, the DOTs. As of 2011 was ranked the 12th worldwide among female poker pros in overall tournament earnings. Made it to "Hollywood Week" on season three of American Idol. Broke the record in 2011 for the largest cash a female has ever had at the World Series of Poker with her $540,020 payday (2nd place finish) in the WSOP $5,000 NL event. Is the only female poker player to be the Last Woman Standing at both the World Series of Poker (USA) and World Series of Poker Europe Championship Events.
Daniel Negreanu, the man, the legend, and the subject of this documentary that promises to take you into the mind and soul of one of the greatest poker players to have ever graced the felt.