Vietnam native wins top mega poker prize
Print Edition
FORMER nail salon owner and failed professional baccarat player Qui Nguyen won the World Series of Poker Main Event early yesterday in Las Vegas, claiming the top prize of US$8,005,310 and a gold bracelet after a nine-hour heads-up session that was the longest in tournament history.
Wearing a raccoon baseball cap throughout the final table, the 39-year-old Nguyen eliminated San Francisco poker pro Gordon Vayo on the 364th hand of the final table — almost 200 hands with just the two of them at the felt with the first place prize money splayed between them in giant bricks of US$100 bills.
The native of Vietnam emerged from a field of 6,737 in the US$10,000 No-Limit Hold ‘Em Main Event, the final and most prestigious in a series of 69 World Series of Poker tournaments.
Down to his last opponent and holding a more than 5-to-1 chip advantage Nguyen was dealt a king and 10 of clubs. Vayo got a jack and 10 of spades.
The first three community cards came out, and among them was a king to give Nguyen a pair.
Two blanks followed and Nguyen was the winner — the oldest Main Event champion since 2007, ending a streak of eight straight 20-somethings to claim the title. The two players hugged, confetti fell from the sky. “It’s so exciting,” Nguyen said. “I don’t know what to say.”
Vayo took US$4,661,228.
Earlier in the session, Cliff Josephy was eliminated in third place and collected US$3.45 million.
In addition to one of the biggest prizes in poker, Nguyen receives a US$50,000 bracelet made from 427 grams of gold and more than 2,000 diamonds and rubies.
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