David Minto, nicknamed “The Colonel”, is a professional poker player, who currently resides in Alamogordo, NM, United States. David Minto used to work in the United States Air Force for most of his life. Being an engineer for the US military, David Minto had to perform tests on everything from vehicles to warheads, but somehow that didn’t satisfy him. He tells magazines, that he always wanted to do something more exciting and emotionally rewarding with his life. And yet he never betrayed his job! David Minto began playing poker in his free time and lunch breaks, but poker had always been just a hobby for him and never a way of life. That was about to change when his retirement came into the picture. It was then that David Minto decided that there are yet too many games to be played and it’s not worth missing them. David Minto also thought that being a military for so many years has given him enough skills to prove himself in the poker world.
It was then that David Minto decided to take advantage of the poker world. David Minto’s first appearance in a tournament was in January, 2002, when he participated in the World Poker Challenge and finished 17th in Event#2 – Pot Limit Hold’em. “The Colonel” tried his chance once again in 2005 in the PartyPoker Million IV cruise and played in the WPT's $10,000 buy-in main event. David Minto gave his best and worked steadily through some top notch players and made it to the final table.In the end, David Minto faced the professional player Michael Gracz and took second place. But that wasn’t so bad, because the prize for second place was $1 million. David Minto was very grateful for the extra retirement funds, but mostly for the opportunity to prove to the world and to prove to himself that his life-long hobby really is worth something. Other tournaments that he has participated in include the 37th and 38th Annual WSOP and the LA Poker Classic, but with far less success. David Minto last entered the Grand Poker Series where he placed 5th and won $842 on June 30th , 2008. .As of 2008 the total of his tournament earnings exceeds $1,020,000.
