A pair of brothers who won millions in the height of the poker boom of the 2000s have opened a bubble tea and snack shop in Rockville, Maryland.
Di and Hac Dang purchased the space that housed a former tea shop and are renaming the property as Teas’n You Fusion Tea House, according to the Store Reporter. The shop is set to serve up Asian fast-food favorites like Vietnamese coffee, bubble tea, pastries, and halal fried chicken after officially opening for business in August.
“New look, new patio, same heart. Celebrate summer with us!” the shop’s website reads.
New Business Venture
The Dang brothers had massive success playing online poker in the 2000s. Di ‘Urindanger’ Dang played $500-$1,000 half pot-limit Omaha/half pot-limit hold’em games on Full Tilt, specializing in heads-up action.
Hac ‘Trex313’ Dang also won millions of dollars, putting him in the stratosphere of other online crushers, including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Phil Galfond, and Dan Cates.
Both brothers are originally from Virginia and reportedly have winnings of a combined $20 million. Both have more limited live tournament winnings, with Di sporting the better resumé in that regard with more than $600,000 in winnings. However, neither registered a live result in more than a decade however.
Poker Player Business Owners
The Dang brothers become just the latest poker players looking to diversify their winnings away from the poker table. In an industry where going broke is seemingly a rite of passage for some players, others attempt to use some of their gains to branch out into other business, industries, and investments – assuring themselves some financial stability in the process.
For example, Todd Brunson along with fellow poker pros Max Pescatori and Fabio Coppola purchased Roma Deli & Restaurant in the Chinatown area of Las Vegas in 2017.
Former high-stakes mixed games player Brian Tate transitioned from the poker table to the breakfast table. He founded the Oats Overnight breakfast food in 2016 and the brand is now seeing revenue of $200 million annually, according to Forbes. Tate offered Card Player some insight on transitioning to running the business in 2019.
“I miss playing a lot and only get to play a few tournaments at the WSOP each year,” he said. “The lifestyle of a CEO is night-and-day different than a high-stakes poker player. I decided early on that I would not attempt to do both. That said, I absolutely love what we are building at Oats Overnight.
“We are changing the breakfast game completely and improving the morning routines of hundreds of thousands of people in the US. This feeling of accomplishment is constant reassurance that this path is the right choice for me.”
Other Investment Avenues
Beyond building branded businesses, other players through the years have invested in stocks and crypto. Real estate investing is another common option for many players.
Brock Wilson has had a massive few years and is involved with real estate investments fellow pro Jonathan Dokler as well as some crypto investing.
As a longtime pro, John Racener believes part of what has made him successful is bankroll management. He began parlaying much of his winnings into real estate holdings beginning at a young age.
That now includes owning nine rental houses that have seen their value increase. Racener and his wife run that business together. He says experiencing financial ups and downs early in his career as a poker player spurred him to be more responsible and find some lasting investments.
“That feeling of not having any money was not fun,” he says. “It really stinks. It felt like the world had you by the balls. You couldn’t do anything. You couldn’t live how you wanted. It’s depressing when you can’t pay for bills. A lot of regret for doing all that.”
Beyond some of these investment options, other players branch out into ancillary poker businesses that don’t necessarily require the fluctuations of winning at the tables. That included coaching, owning training sites, and writing books.
Phil Galfond even launched his own online poker site before ultimately selling the brand to Rush Street Interactive in 2022. The site later transitioned to BetRivers Poker, which launched in the U.S. in 2024. He continues to have major input on the platform and serves as a brand ambassador.
