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Men Nguyen
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In an awesome display of skill and power--aided by a good helping of luck-- Men "The Master" Nguyen totally dominated the final table and ran off with an easy win in the opening event of Winnin' o' the Green, Limit Hold'em. It took him exactly one hour and just 27 hands to wrap up a victory that brought him a pay-day of $8,325.
Not only did The Master personally dispatch four of the seven players he faced at the last table, but he also knocked out the ninth and tenth place finishers in one hand at the second table by making four tens on the river. Kate Porter, with the larger number of chips, got ninth place,
while Nick Kassouf settled for tenth.
The eight finalists out of a field of 444 assembled at 2 a.m. Men made his first kill on just the second hand. Limits were $3,000 $6,000. Norm Zavat had exactly enough for one call, and he went for it with AJ. Men, in the small blind, raised with KQ to get heads-up with the Fountain Valley resident, then drew out when a queen flopped.
Three hands later, a huge pot built up after it was capped pre-flop with fourway action. Steve Palacios, an engineer, held pocket queens and he bet into a good flop for him of 338. Joel Lopez, a resident of South Gate, was the only caller, putting in his last $600 with AK.
Joel, who owns a secondhand store, couldn't pair and came in second best, leaving six players. Anton Ulker, a professional from Germany, almost went all-in three hands after that. He had only $800 left after betting a flop of J109, but both Men and Duoc Nguyen, another full-time player, let him have the pot. Right after limits were upped
to $5,000 $10,000, a third Nguyen, this one named Tony, raised all-in for $9,900 but got no callers.
On the next hand, the 11th, Men began piling up chips by taking three pots in a row. The first hand, he raised, forced out the blinds and showed pocket sevens. The next hand, he bet into a board of K109 and two diamonds, then showed a jack of diamonds after Steve folded. The third hand, he got more respect and was given a walk in the big blind.
On the next hand, the field narrowed again after Sophorn Long, a Cambodian-born poker dealer at Hawaiian Gardens, button-raised with two black queens. Duoc Nguyen was in the big blind holding just 84. But with only a few hundred dollars left, he had little choice but to call. He paired his eight, but it was much too little too late, and he was out. A hand later, after Sophorn raised and Men called, Anton hastily folded. "Two wolves, and I'm not going
to be the rabbit", he said. But on the next hand, "the rabbit" was in the same situation as Duoc. He was in the small blind, holding 85, with only $700 left. "No choice", he said, calling against Steve's KQ. By the turn, the engineer had a set. Anton jokingly asked the dealer to turn the final card slowly, as though that would make any difference.
On the 21st hand, Men began sprinting toward the finish by hauling in a $50,000 pot. He raised and Steve came over the top for $15,000. Steve then bet a flop of Q73 and Men called. A three turned and was checked. Then Steve bet out when an ace came on the river but folded when Men raised, later claiming he had flopped a set. After beating Steve two hands later with just a king-high, The Master had
about half the chips on the table.
The limits were raised to $10,000 $20,000 on the 25th hand, the final one for Steve. After Men raised, he called all-in for $10,300 with J8. Men had A7 of hearts, and when the board came 106 104, his ace-high won it.
The finale came two hands later. Tony moved all-in for $18,900 with K3 of hearts and Sophorn put in his last $14,700 with A10 of hearts. Men had only Q8 of spades. "No problem, I can bust both of you", he announced, making the call. A flop of A 10J gave Sophorn two pair.
But Men, with a double belly-buster, caught a nine on the river for his winning straight. As The Master said, "No problem". -- Max Shapiro
Biography
"Nobody can compete with me, Men "The Master" declared modestly after vanquishing his last two opponents. But he quickly added that he was very lucky tonight. He got good cards, and they held up, he said, the high point of the evening being when he made quad tens for the first of his
two double knock-outs.
One of the most consistent winners on the tournament circuit, Men placed third in Nolan Dalla's "Player of the Year" rankings for 2000 with 22 final tables and four major wins. His numerous other titles include four at the World Series, four at the Hall of Fame and four at the Queens Poker Classic. At the Bike, he's won three "best player" cars, and also won a best all-around at the QPC. He had formerly owned a laundry and a furniture store before
deciding to play poker full time in 1988. |
