| BINION'S HORSESHOE -- LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
PRESS RELEASE APRIL 20, 2003
Minh Nguyen, from Bell Gardens, CA wins $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Eight or Better Event at 2003 World Series of Poker
"The money is wonderful, but the bracelet is more important." -- Minh Nguyen (after winning his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in the Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better event)
One might assume that being lowest on chips coming into the final table is a enormous disadvantage. After all, the players with the fewest chips are most likely to be eliminated. But don't tell that to Minh Nguyen. He came into the final table of the $1,500 Buy-in Stud Eight-or-Better event with the fewest chips, then proceeded to overcome the odds and win his first gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. Even more remarkable, he accomplished this feat in record time -- in just over three hours.
Coming into Day Two, the chip leader was the formidable Randy Holland -- a two-time gold bracelet winner who won this same event in 2000. Holland came into the final table with $63,300 in chips to Nguyen's $20,200. In between, were six other very talented players also striving for victory, all with more chips than Nguyen.
When we were eight-handed, I was lowest on chips," said Nguyen. "But after I doubled-up twice, I never looked back."
Indeed, Nguyen scooped two very large pots early that effectively crushed the hopes of his opponents. He seized the chip lead mid-way through the final table, and by the time there were three players remaining, Nguyen had a seemingly insurmountable chip lead of more than 5 to 1 versus his two remaining opponents.
Robert "Bo" Toft, who plays regularly in Atlantic City appeared to pose the biggest threat to Nguyen, along with Robert Mangino, who was making his second WSOP in-the-money finish with this event. But Toft took a horrendous beat that knocked him out and left Mangino heads-up against Nguyen.
In the key hand, it appeared that, at the very worst, Toft would split the pot with Mangino. Toft made a full house in the first five cards, while Magino was drawing to a low. But Mangino also had a pair. Sixth street gave Mangino two pair. Then, Toft watched in horror as Mangino caught another big card and made a higher full house to bust Toft in third place.
"What can I say, I got unlucky," said Toft afterward. Toft, one of poker's true gentlemen, collected $26,500 for third place.
As heads-up play began, Nguyen had a commanding 12 to 1 chip lead over Mangino. No doubt, Mangino needed a lot of help to overcome the disadvantage. But, it was not to be. Just ten minutes later, the final hand of the tournament was dealt.
Mangino made three 5s by sixth street as his cards were (5-Q) 5-J-4-5 -- with one card still to come. Meanwhile, Nguyen had a high-low split powerhouse, with both a made-straight for high as well as a low: (3-5) 6-8-7-9 Mangino need to pair up to survive in the tournament. Unfortunately, an ugly unhelpful king appeared on seventh street for Mangino, which meant Nnguyen's straight would scoop the last pot of the night. The win gave Nguyen his first victory at the World Series of Poker. Mangino, who sells golf equipment to professional golfers, collected $53,000 for second place.
Vietnamese-born Minh Nguyen first came to the United States in 1980. "When I was in the Army, we played a game called 'follow the deuce'", said Nguyen. "The card that came up (on the board immediately) after the deuce was wild. The game was just like seven-card stud, but there were wild cards."
Nguyen worked in cardrooms in Washington State before finally settling down in the Los Angeles area several years ago. He credited (the "other" Nguyen), Men "the Master" Nguyen for teaching him how to improve his game.
Up to this day, Nguyen had enjoyed mixed success at the World Series of Poker. He finished 24th in the main championship event last year and had made it into the money in several other big events. But this win was by far his biggest -- both monetarily and in terms of prestige. Even more incredible was the fact that Nguyen staged a dramatic comeback by overcoming seven other players with more chips at the final table to win the championship. If there's a lesson to be learned here, it is that anything is possible at a World Series of Poker final table.
-- By Nolan Dalla
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