Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen captures fourth Player of the Year title
Last year was a record-breaking year for tournament poker. Field sizes grew, prize pools ballooned, and millionaires were made on nearly a weekly basis. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event boasted a field of more than 5,600 players, and the World Poker Tour (WPT) passed the $100 million mark in total prize money.
Card Player once again took it to task to crown the best tournament poker player in the world.
Throughout the 12-month grind, a rotating cast of veterans and promising newcomers made their way into the top five, and in so doing set themselves apart from the legions of players prompted to take their shot on the tournament circuit by the bright lights, big bucks, and potential fame promised by our poker-crazed globe.
Many dubbed 2005 as “the year of the pro.” And after all of the buy-ins were made, all of the rivers were dealt, and all of the bracelets, rings, trophies, and million dollar checks were awarded, Men “The Master” Nguyen — a pro among pros — stood alone atop the Player of the Year leader board for the fourth time in his career.
Nguyen is a world-class player with a dynamic personality who has been a fixture in the poker community since before the boom, and he is still going strong. Throughout 2005, he cashed in events both big and small, making 16 final tables and pocketing close to $1 million. He had victories in three WSOP Circuit preliminary events, and like all great champions, showed his mettle with a dramatic victory to stave off John Phan at the Trump Classic.
Although he was in the midst of a busy week of celebrations, Nguyen spent some time with me to look back on his successful career — from “Money Machine” to “The Master” — and to talk about the importance of his latest achievement.
Scott Huff: You have a ton of hardware — World Series of Poker bracelets, World Poker Open bracelets, diamond rings from the Legends of Poker, and more. This is your fourth Player of the Year award. What does this award mean to you, and how does it rank with your other achievements in the game?
Men Nguyen: I am proud of my many poker accomplishments. This year I became the leader in all-time money finishes (49) at the World Series of Poker. I have the most worldwide final-table appearances (149), and won 72 of those events. I’ve won six WSOP bracelets and two WPO bracelets. I’ve won 10 watches from various championship events at the Taj Mahal (including two Rolexes for seven-card stud events), four watches from Hall of Fame Poker Classic events at Binion’s Horseshoe, and one Rolex for winning the Best All-Around Player award at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods. At the Legends of Poker, I’ve won nine rings and three Best All-Around Player titles. I’ve won three rings in WSOP Tournament Circuit events, and earned a championship ring as the best all-around player at the Four Queens Poker Classic. I have lots of trophies from Commerce Casino, The Bicycle Casino, The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Hollywood Park Casino, and Crystal Park Casino, all from different games. I have won the Player of the Year award four times (1997, 2001, 2003, and 2005). I’ve won so many titles that it’s hard to keep track. It will be very difficult for someone to beat my records!
As for winning the 2005 Player of the Year award, I am truly honored. Many poker players dream of winning the Player of Year award once, so that they can get their names in the record book. I am very fortunate to have won four times. It’s very difficult to win the Player of the Year award, because poker has become so popular in the United States. Also, people from all over the world come to the United States to compete in tournaments. Winning a WSOP bracelet is much easier than winning the Player of the Year award, because there are lots of events at the World Series. You have to be consistent to be the best tournament player of the year.
SH: Before we get into this year’s Player of the Year race, why don’t you tell us how it all began. What games did you cut your teeth on before you became “The Master”? How did you learn the game, and what were some watershed moments on your way to becoming one of the greatest players in the game?
MN: I had just broken up with my first wife and I missed my daughter, Roxana. I was very lonely and had nothing to do. One day, a friend came over and asked me to go to Las Vegas with him on a weekend junket. We went to Caesars Palace. I walked into the poker room and saw people playing seven-card stud. In Vietnam, I used to play no-limit five-card stud with 28 cards. Four cards are up and one card is down. It is much easier to read hands. But here, the game is played with three cards down, so it’s harder to read hands. It was very difficult for me to adjust at first. I started at high limits right away, $15-$30. Most people learn by playing at low limits, but not me. I have never read any poker books. I learned by playing and creating my own style. My first time playing at high limits cost me $3,200. It was an expensive first lesson! I flew home after the weekend, since I had a regular job during the week as a machinist at Sun Net Tool. When I went back to Vegas the following weekend, I beat the game.
When I was just starting out, I would fly to Las Vegas each weekend and play seven-card stud at the Dunes. Then, I learned another game, seven-card stud high-low split. It took me a while to adjust because it was a split game. But I loved it, so I kept coming back to play. Every time I went to the Dunes, people were happy to see me, because I would run to the ATM and get more money when I lost. They called me “Money Machine, but they don’t call me that anymore. Now they call me “The Master.”
In June of 1987, California allowed poker games. I didn’t have to travel to Las Vegas to play poker anymore. I played at the Bicycle Club every night after work. I played a lot with Kenny “Skyhawk” Flaton. Two months later, in August of 1987, I won my first poker tournament at the Diamond Jim Brady. I won $28,000 and received my first trophy.
In 1988, at the Super Bowl of Poker tournament at Caesars Palace, I entered a no-limit hold’em event. I had never played no-limit hold’em before. There were 10 people left and it was hand for hand. I got involved in a big pot with Johnny Chan, who was the reigning WSOP champion. I had the Q J and raised preflop. Johnny called from the blind. The flop came jack high with two red cards.
Johnny checked, I bet, and he check-raised me all in. I called and asked him to turn over his cards, but he didn’t. The turn and river were blanks, and he mucked his hand. That was the key hand. It helped me win second place and earn $45,000.
Note: 18 years later, Nguyen is still in the dark as to what Chan held.
SH: You told me previously that winning the Player of the Year award would be a miracle, and also would mean a lot for your career. How so?
MN: Early in the year, I had only a few points. It was almost impossible for me to win because I took a lot of time off from poker to do charity events. In August, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, with Scotty Nguyen during the Legends of Poker to raise funds for the children of Vietnam. In November, I went to Minnesota with Linda Johnson to help raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation during the middle of the Foxwoods tournament. Mark Seif, T.J. Cloutier, Mike Sexton, Marcel Luske, and Lyle Berman also participated. The day before the $15,000 main event at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio, I flew back to Los Angeles and played in a Jewish charity tournament with David Pham at Hawaiian Gardens. I even paid my own airfare and entry fee!
Winning this year reminds me of 2003, when I left for Vietnam in the middle of the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic. I was in the lead for the Player of the Year award, but there were lots of players who could pass me. Amir Vahedi, David Pham, Scotty Nguyen, and “Minneapolis” Jim Meehan were very close. I went to Vietnam to do charity work. No one passed me, and I won the Player of the Year award. I feel like I was rewarded for helping the people in Vietnam and also here in the United States.
I think that winning the 2005 Player of the Year award will mean a lot for my career. There are lots of endorsement opportunities available now because poker is huge. Everyone knows that I like to drink Coronas when I play poker. They should sponsor me! The media likes to focus on the “young guns” of poker, but this year I proved that I am still “The Master.”
SH: Because of the size of the fields and the number of top players vying for this prize, does this Player of the Year award mean the most to you of the four that you have won?
MN: Winning the 2005 Player of the Year award means the most because there are so many people playing poker now. It’s amazing. When I first played in the World Series, there were more than a few hundred players. This year, there were more than 5,600 players in the main event. If you turn on the television, you can always find a poker tournament to watch. I have a funny story about how popular poker has become. I have known one of my neighbors for many years. We usually talk about our families, life, and so on. I never talked about my poker accomplishments. Recently, he saw me outside my home and asked, “Are you Men ‘The Master’?”
I answered, “Yes.”
He said, “I saw you in a poker tournament on television. You are very famous! Can I come over to your house?”
All this time, he never knew I was famous until he saw me playing poker on television! I invited him over and showed him my trophies and awards.
SH: You got hot at the end of 2005 and were able to overcome John Phan. Over nearly a six-month period this year, you picked up only 420 points. What happened during that stretch and how were you able to overcome that cold run to take the title?
MN: I was very busy with my charity work. I even took some time off before the World Series to go to Vietnam with my wife, Van. We distributed 1,300 tons of rice to feed the hungry people in Vietnam. We needed two trucks for all the rice. Each family got 15 kilos of rice. We also built indoor playgrounds for the schoolchildren, and gave them toys and books to read. There are lots of pictures of my charity work on my website at
http://www.menmaster.com/.
When I came back for the World Series, I was rested and ready to kick ass. I cashed in several events and became the all-time leader in money finishes. Later that month, I went to Phil Hellmuth’s birthday party in Hollywood. I played in a charity event at the party for the AIDS Project Los Angeles with Phil, Phil’s beautiful wife, John Hennigan, and Amir Vahedi. I got to heads up with Phil’s wife, and got lucky and won. After the tournament was over, I told Phil, “I cannot beat you heads up, but at least I can beat your wife at the poker table!” Earlier in the year, Phil beat me in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship at the Golden Nugget. Phil, if you are reading this interview, you still owe me a trophy for my collection!
A few weeks later, I won the first event at the Legends of Poker tournament at the Bike. I beat more than 600 people and won $42,000, but I didn’t get any points because the buy-in was only $200. Winning that event gave me a lot of confidence. Then, I won two events and finished third in another at the WSOP Tournament Circuit at Harrah’s. I was happy to add two rings to my collection. I made three final tables in four events and broke my personal record. My good friend Jon Setoguchi was following the tournaments on the Internet and called me to tell me that I was back in contention for Player of the Year.
Note: Nguyen smelled the blood in the water, and like the old-school shark that he is, he dove in and attacked. But winning Card Player’s Player of the Year award is never easy. For the third straight year, it would come down to a dramatic final tournament before a winner could be determined. The Trump Classic was the stage for this year’s drama, and not only did the curtain have to wait for the final event, it had to wait for the final table.
SH: Talk about traveling to the Taj to basically take on John Phan head-to-head for the Player of the Year award.
MN: John was eliminated on day one of the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio. After I was eliminated on day two, John and I left for Atlantic City to play the final three events of the Trump Classic tournament at the Taj Mahal. We both entered the $300 no-limit hold’em event. If I made the top seven, John would not be able to pass me. If I finished in eighth or ninth place, John would have to win the event. John played very well, but so did I. We both made the final table. I won first place and John finished third. I held on to my points lead and won the Player of the Year award.
Beating John at the Taj Mahal in the final event of the year reminded me of 2001, when I was battling John Juanda for the Player of the Year award. It also came down to the final event at the Taj. John and I reached the final table of the $7,500 no-limit hold’em championship. I beat him and won the Player of the Year award.
