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The Master Scores in Stud!
"If you beat the Master, you will be famous," Men "The Master" Nguyen declared, waving his arms and playing to the crowd. "If I win it will be my first victory, and if you win it will just be another day for you," Leo Alvarez replied quietly. Alvarez, a young, soft-spoken P.R. player for the Bicycle Casino, in sharp contrast to the boisterous Nguyen, came close to that win, briefly holding a 2-1 chip lead heads-up. But the much more experienced Master quickly recovered and then proceeded to out-talk and out-play his opponent and claim his umpteenth tournament win.
Cashing out ninth was John Henson. He had pocket 10s when Chris Grigorian raised him all in. He couldn't help, while the "Armenian Express" made kings-up. Final table limits started at $1,000-$2,000, with $200 antes and a $300 bring-in, 2 minutes left.
On the first hand, two players went all in. Nguyen raised and poker player Joel Tushnet called for $500. On fourth street, Nguyen bet with a Q-9 up and Ron Faltinsky, a nutritional distributor, called for his last $700 with two 8s. The cards were dealt. Tushnet turned up aces-up, and Faltinsky showed trip 8s. Men, meanwhile, drawing to a straight, went into his trademark long, long squeeze routine, much to Faltinsky’s annoyance. Men missed, vitamin Ron stayed alive and Tushnet was gone
Limits went to $1,500-$3,000, with $200 antes and $400 low-card. On hand 10, John Juanda raised on fifth street with jacks and 6s, and Nguyen put him in with pocket aces and a flush draw. On the river, the Master went into an even longer squeeze routine, and this time the whole table was on his back. "Men the Torturer," Faltinsky dubbed him. He finally turned up a second pair, and Juanda ended up in seventh place.
Another 18 hands went by. Limits now were $2,000-$4,000, with $300 antes and a $500 bring-in. After a couple of all-in escapes, Faltinksky busted out with split kings after Alvarez caught a third lady. On the next hand, David "The Dragon" Pham, whose many titles includes a World Series S.H.O.E win, was knocked out by Nguyen, who happens to be his cousin. The best he could make was two 8s, while the Master, drawing to a straight flush, flushed on the river.
Men, who had maintained his starting chip lead with aggressive raising, eliminated French pro Thierry Mulin a couple of hands later. Mulin raised all in with split 6s, couldn’t improve and lost to the Master's two 8s. Continuing his relentless attack, Nguyen then dispatched Grigorian, who hadn't been able to find much to play at the final table. He went all in and all out with two queens when Nguyen hit a wheel on the end.
Two-handed, Nguyen had a 1.5-1 chip lead. The Master offered a tournament-ending deal, but Alvarez, who’s also propped at Garden City and Hollywood Park, declined because he wanted to win his first tournament. When limits went to $3,000-$6,000 with $500 antes and a $1,000 bring-in, they were virtually even and agreed to chop and play for the ring and points. Four hands later, Men folded a big pot on sixth street showing 10-8-5-6 against 5-2-2-4, and suddenly Leo had a 2-1 lead. But Men reversed the count on the next hand when he raised all in on the river, beating Alvarez' aces-up with a king-high flush.
On the 41st hand of heads-up play, Men bet with 10-6-2 showing. "The game's over," he warned. Sure enough, Leo went all in with 9s and deuces and was beaten by the Master's Qs and 9s. "At last Leo knows how good I am," were Men's parting words.
-Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Men "The Master" Nguyen's remarkable poker achievements include four titles each at the World Series, Hall of Fame and Four Queens. He's won three best all-around cars at the Bicycle Casino, and was Card Player magazine's "Player of the Year" for 2001. Tonight, he was down to $80 at the second level. He still had only $580 at the break. Coming back after getting some food, he quickly won two hands to get to $2,500, then kept climbing, finally arriving at the final table with a good-sized chip lead.
"Stud is my best game, and I played it very well tonight," he said. He complimented his final opponent as a very tough player. During the tournament, Men consumed his usual quota of Coronas. "I had 10 beers and it doesn't affect me at all. Minsky plays good," he remarked. Someone asked what his Corona record was. "Nineteen," he replied. That may be another poker record.
EVENT #8 RESULTS
7-CARD STUD
$35,400 PRIZE POOL
118 PLAYERS
1. Men Nguyen $14,160
2. Leo Alvarez $8,140
3. Chris Grigorian $4,250
4. Thierry Mulin $2,480
5. David Pham $2,125
6. Ron Fortinsky $1,770
7. John Juanda $1,415
8. Joel Tushnet $1,060
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Ron Faltinsky
$1,900
Chris Grigorian
$19,200
John Juanda
$12,500
Leo Alvarez
$8,900
Men Nguyen
$28,000
Joel Tushnet
$700
David Pham
$15,100
Chips raced and/or blinded off: $140
ALL-AROUND
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. John Juanda 99
2. Daniel Negreanu 87
3. Paul Lee 79
4. Marlon Delossantos 77
5. Men Nguyen 73
6. Andy Simon 70
7. Sam Sanusi 63
8. Phil Hellmuth Jr. 62
9. Ernie Sebastian 61
10.Debbi Landon 59
11. Al Baham 59
SUPER SATELLITE
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Jeff Yoak 148
2. Tony Cousineau 92
3. Hassan Kamoei 88
4. Mike Fetter 79
5. Mickey Mouse 78
6. Stan Goldstein 65
7. Marty Morales 63
8. Devon Amico 61
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