Paul Phua

Paul Phua is a super-rich Malaysian businessman and poker player who is regularly found playing high-stakes cash games and tournaments in Macau. However, he also frequently participates in Triton Poker Series, Super High Roller events.

After beginning his professional career in Macau as a VIP junket tour operator, Phua launched his own online sportsbook and helped with the creation of the Wynn Macau Casino and Resort. He developed an interest in playing poker professionally rather late in life. Paul Phua he didn’t begin to take the game seriously until he was in his 40s.

Paul Phua: Early Life

Phua was born in the town of Miri, Malaysia, in 1964. Phua enjoyed playing sports as a kid and participated in basketball, football, softball, and table tennis. He was transferred to a Singaporean school when he turned 15 years old.

He needed to work in construction in order to earn an income while he was a student at the school. This job helped him realize that he wasn’t capable of performing difficult physical tasks. In contrast to that, he began to take part in illegal gambling.

He started out as a liaison between the players and the bookmaker. Phua decided to set up his own bookmaker’s office after quickly beginning to make money from the illegal bookmaker activity.

Phua first met Richard Yong, his future business partner, in the late 1990s. He was being investigated by Malaysian police for allegedly organizing illegal horse racing, but the reason for the investigation’s suspension is unknown. Richard and Paul ended up being a good match. At the beginning of the 2000s, he and Yong worked in the junket business. In order to attract clients who are wealthy to their places of business, the casino must pay some of its revenue. Paul and Richard hired wealthy individuals from Asia, and the Macau casino paid them in exchange for 1% of the total revenue.

Paul Phua: Poker Career

Phua took part in poker in 2010. Before this, Paul enjoyed playing baccarat, like many Asian gamblers. At the “City of Dreams” casino in Macau, Phua participated in the 2010 Asian Poker Tour. When word got out among the poker players that wealthy Asian gamblers frequented Macau, Paul soon found himself playing at the same table as John Juanda, Phil Ivey, and other well-known players. 

He won his first prize money in 2012 after winning the Aspers 100K High Roller. His prize was £1 million, or $1,620,000. This is not shocking considering that playing at the same tables as the best players served its purpose.

Yong and Phua quickly began to feel accepted by the well-known poker players, both as players and as backers. They often paid for the buy-ins that some of the best poker players couldn’t afford by purchasing shares in the live tournaments. One of these tournaments, One Drop at WSOP 2012, with a $1,000,000 buy-in, was the one in which Yong finished eighth and earned $1,237,000.    

The Macau police detained Paul Phua in the summer of 2014 on suspicion that he may have organized illegal gambling. Soon after, Phua was freed; however, entry into the nation was prohibited.

When Paul organized illegal gambling in Las Vegas that summer, the FBI confined him. The FBI performed a special sting operation to gather evidence that would clearly show Phua’s involvement in illegal gambling. They discovered a notebook with an accounting of the bets’ earnings in it. $357,000,000 was the total amount of the illegal wagers’ winnings. Paul’s ties to Asian mafia triads attracted the FBI’s attention as well. Phua was freed in 2015 after nine months of court proceedings with the aid of financial resources and favorable connections. Then he concentrated on poker. In the expensive tournaments, Paul participates frequently.

Conclusion

Phua began playing poker relatively late in life. He only began playing casually in Macau in 2010, just as high-stakes poker was beginning to move from Las Vegas, USA, to Macau. Phua was able to obtain seats at the high-roller Macau tables by using his connections and reputation in the gambling industry.