Dario Minieri is considered, by all standards, a wonder-child of the professional poker world.
Born in 1985 in Rome, Italy, Dario Minieri is already a member of the PokerStars Pro team and plays online under the nickname Dariominieri. He has been playing online so much that he was first person ever to purchase a car with his Frequent Player points – a 2007 Porsche Cayman.
Dario Minieri was not always into poker. By the time he was 16 he was a Magic: The Gathering champion and traveled around the world playing Magic tournaments. When he saw the game and tournaments are taking most of his free time, Dario Minieri had to abandon his plans to study Psychology at university. Only after his friend introduced him to online poker did Dario Minieri realize that what he wanted is to become a professional poker player. He dedicated his days to study and play the game online, and soon enough he started to compete in live tournaments and earn some good money.
This young man is indeed a professional among professionals. His first cash winning in a live tournament was on November 29th, 2005, in the Campionato Italiano di Poker Open in Italy, where he took the 4th place in Pot Limit Hold'em. A single day later, on November 30th, he took yet another 4th place in the No Limit Hold'em. Since then Dario Minieri has had a long and enjoyable ride to the top. As of June 16th 2008, he can truly say that one of his goals has been conquered – on that day Dario Minieri played head to head against Seth Fischer and beat him after a ling and tight competition. Dario Minieri has won his first WSOP bracelet and $528,418 in the $2,500 No Limit Holdem Six Handed tournament. This was indeed an amazing achievement for a 23 year old, especially since this winning is not only the first bracelet for Darion Minieri, but also the first major winning in a live poker tournament.
On his little free time between tournaments, Dario Minieri likes soccer, movies and driving around in his Porsche that his online poker player points had earned him. But Dario Minieri wants more – he currently saves his frequent player points to buy himself an Aston Martin. Look out, here he comes!
Dario Minieri – Quick Facts
Cashes: 10
Total Winnings: $1,193,208
First place finishes: 1
WSOP bracelets: 1