Phil Nguyen is New Champ!
Phil Nguyen, an electrical engineer by training but a full-time poker player by preference, won Big Poker Oktober's championship event, $300 limit hold'em, by knocking out two players with a straight and taking the chip lead. Two hands after that, the three finalists made a deal and he took the lion’s share of the prize money and the trophy.
Meanwhile, an extra event was added to aid the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Organized and hosted by Men "The Master" Nguyen, it will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 8:15 p.m. It will be a $200 + $30 limit hold’em event, with the final two tables playing no-limit. 50 percent of the buy-ins and entry fees will go to the Red Cross. In addition, the Bicycle Casino will donate $1,000 to this charity event. Entrants get $1,000 in chips. First place pays 75 percent, second place 15 percent and third place, 10.
In this event, Stephane "Frenchy" Borrero set the final table by leaving Mark Seif in tenth place. Seif had K-Q and flopped a queen, but Borrero, with pocket jacks, turned a set. Limits started at $1,000-$2,000. The two short stacks were quickly knocked out. On the second hand, contractor/farmer Perry Webb raised with A-Q, and poker player Trang Phan, in the small blind, went all in for $2,500 with pocket sixes. She had the lead until an ace on the turn turned the tables on her. On the next hand, full-time player Minh Nguyen was also in good shape with A-8 of clubs on a board of 10-8-7-4. Then the river brought a king. Retiree Paul Kroh had A-K to put Minh all in and all out.
On hand 16, Kroh had the misfortune to hold Q-J when two jacks flopped. Rich Nguyen, an engineer, had A-J and the board was three-bet. When the fireworks ended, Paul had $1,000 left. He posted that in the big blind on the next hand with a sickly 7-2 offsuit. Frenchy raised on the button with A-9 to get heads-up with him, and paired both cards to cut the field to six. On the 23rd hand, limits went to $2,000-$4,000. Frenchy, again on the button, had just enough to call a raise to $4,000. This time he had only 6-3 of hearts, and Phil, with K-J, easily broke him on a board of K-8-2-3-10. Soon after that, Perry, with pocket nines, said he was "half-way to the freeway" when he bet a board of 6-6-7-6 and Minh Ngo raised him all in with pocket queens. But Perry quickly drove back when a river nine saved him.
Hand number 27 was the one that decided everything. Rich Nguyen had the button and Kiet Tran, another full-time player, was in the small blind, all in for $500 with 9-2. Ngo, with J-10, raised. "Gotta call," said Phil, in the big blind with J-9. Good call. On a flop of 10-8-6, Ngo bet his last chip with paired tens, and Phil called with an open-ender. A seven on the turn gave him a jack-high straight to knock out two players at once.
After two more hands went by, the finalists counted chips. Phil had $61,500 to $50,000 for Perry and $21,000 for Rich. They agreed to a chip-count deal to end the event and give Phil the championship. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Philong "Phil" Nguyen moved here from Atlantic City three years ago and now lives in Bell Gardens. He graduated with a degree in electronic engineering going to school in New Jersey, but decided he’d rather play cards full time. Phil, who didn’t care to give his age, looks a lot younger than his years because, he says, he is always getting carded.
Phil divides his playing time between tournaments and side games. In side action, he prefers hold’em at limits of $20-$40 or $40-$80. He won limit hold’em hold’em tournaments in the Commerce Casino’s L.A. Poker Classic and California State Poker Championship two years ago, and a couple more at the Orleans, but this is his first Bicycle Casino win. Frustratingly, at prior Big Poker Oktober events this year, he finished just out of the money. Tonight was not an easy win for him, he said, because he was short-chipped most of the tournament.
CHIP POSITION · FINAL TABLE
Minh Ngo $13,500
Rich Nguyen $19,500
Kiet Tran $2,200
Stephane Borrero $1,720
Minh Nguyen $985
Trang Phan $860
Phil Nguyen $22,000
Paul Kroh $5,000
Perry Webb $26,500
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