TOURNAMENT
REPORT
Severe
adversity is a condition
that Men �Master� Nguyen
of Bell Gardens, CA, has
had to deal with in his
life, which he credits for
his �never say die� attitude
when it comes to playing
tournament poker. So, when
he found himself down 4-1
in chips against fellow
professional Tom Jacobs
of Las Vegas in a heads-up
confrontation for the $1,000
buy-in Omaha Hi-Lo Split
title during the Bellagio
Five Diamond World Poker
Classic, the Master dug
in and fought his way back
once again.
With blinds at $5,000-$10,000
and the betting structure
at $10,000-$20,000, and
only $50,000 in chips compared
to Jacobs� $200,000 war
chest, the 48-year-old veteran
warrior scooped several
key pots during a 90-minute
one-on-one battle with Jacobs
before laying claim to the
title and the $51,992 first
prize.
All
of this came just 24 hours
after one of the Master�s
students, Hon Le of Bell
Gardens, CA, took the $1,000
buy-in No Limit Hold'em
event, worth $89,628. �With
Hon Le winning yesterday,
and me winning today, it
is really a very great feeling,�
explained Nguyen.
Born
and raised in Vietnam, Nguyen
escaped communist rule by
boat in 1978 and made his
way to the U.S. Then everything
was okay, right? Not exactly.
Nguyen
could not speak English,
had very little money and
no job, but his �never give
up� approach soon found
him a job as a machinist,
something he did for the
next 10 years. He also started
playing poker for money
in 1985, and by 1989, he
had saved enough to become
a businessman, with interests
in a furniture store and
a dry cleaners. In 1990,
the Master became a full
time professional poker
player. Since then he has
more than 50 titles to his
credit, including four WSOP
bracelets, and is one of
the most feared competitors
at any event he enters.
The
Master has won nine titles
this year alone, including
three titles in the Bicycle
Casino�s Legends of Poker
and back-to-back Omaha Hi-Lo
Split wins in The Orleans
Open 2002 in Las Vegas.
Nguyen
still has family and friends
in Vietnam, and says that
a great deal of the Vietnamese
people still struggle greatly.
Maybe it�s the occasional
adversity that Nguyen must
cope with in making a living
as a professional that helps
him remember, but even with
all of his success, he still
hasn�t forgotten his roots.
He does his best to help,
making personal donations
of time and money. He organized
a Children�s Fund For Vietnam,
from which the construction
of two schools has been
financed there, Plus, he
provides a special awards
fund so that promising students
can be rewarded financially
for their efforts.
�It�s
not just me doing this,�
Nguyen explained. �There�s
a lot of other poker players
that have helped me, too.
At one point, I raised more
than $20,000 in financial
aid for the fund, just from
poker players. There are
a lot of great, giving people
in the poker community.
Without their help, some
of these kids don�t stand
a chance.�
Nguyen�s
charm and poise are widely
recognized in poker circles
for exactly what it is �
sincere and honorable. But,
any final table pro player
will tell you that when
the warrior side of Nguyen
emerges, he�s a very dangerous
player. There was 133 players
that had the opportunity
to find out for themselves
in the Omaha Hi-Lo Split
event this week.
Although
losing the title to Nguyen�s,
Jacobs� second-place finish
earned him $25,996 from
the total prize money of
$129,980. He was followed
by 3-Wes Gronhovd of Nekoma,
ND ($12,998); 4-Bob Slezak
of Omaha, NE ($7,800); and
5-Eddie Scharf of Cologne,
Germany ($5,850).
Rounding
out the top 10 finishers
were 6-Larry Canfield of
Norfolk, NE; 7-Lee Grove
of Cadams, NE; 8-David Pham
of Bell Gardens, CA; 9-Jim
Miller of Las Vegas, NV;
and 10-John Juanda of Alhambra,
CA.
��
Jim Sherwood
