Full Name: Men Nguyen
Nickname: The Master
Date of Birth: December 30, 1954
Birthplace: Phanthiet, Vietnam
Current Residence: Los Angeles, California
Personal Information: Married, with three children
World Series of Poker Bracelets:
- 1992 -> $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Tournament with $120,600 prize
- 1995 -> $2,500 Seven-Card Stud Split Tournament with $96,000 prize
- 1995 -> $2,500 Limit Holdem Tournament with $110,000 prize
- 1996 -> $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better Tournament with $110,000 prize
- 2003 -> $5,000 Seven Card Stud Tournament with $178,560 prize
- 2003 -> $1,500 Ace to Five Triple Draw Lowball Tournament with $43,520 prize
In one of the interviews, Nguyen said: "I believe that some people are born lucky. It all depends on the time, day and year you are born". In my opinion, Men Nguyen is a healthy combination between hard work and luck. Do you agree?
Men Nguyen was born in Vietnam. At age of 13, he leaves school for the sake of his family and works as a bus driver. In early 1978, a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped from the Communist Regime of Vietnam and sailed with 87 compatriots to Pulau Besar in Malaysia. Later that year he received political asylum from the United States and settled in Los Angeles. He did not know a single word in English and could not get a job for a long time. Because Nguyen took the English classes every week, he finally found a machinist job. Two years later, he got a green card, and in 1986, after studying hard, Men passed all of the necessary tests and became a United States citizen. In 1984, he boarded a junket to Las Vegas, Nevada and played 7-stud poker for the first time. He lost a large amount of money, earning himself the nickname "Money Machine," until he got the hang of the game and started his winning streak. In 1987, one year after he became an American citizen, he won his first poker tournament.
During his career, Nguyen won more than seventy five tournaments. Although he has never won the main event of the World Series of Poker, as of 2004 he has six WSOP bracelets and over 4.1 million dollars in live tournament winnings. People know Nguyen for tutoring players, many of whom go on to be successful in their own right. One of his students began to call him "The Master" and his willingness to teach new players and to learn through interaction have helped this name stick. Another good reason to call him "Master" is that he is objectively one of the best players in the circuit. Men Nguyen is one of the most influential people in the poker world and stands out because of his charismatic personality, openness and optimism.
Nguyen donates a portion of the money he earns through tournaments to charities in Vietnam. Men "The Master" still loves his motherland and he visits Vietnam very often. Besides building a Buddhist temple and separate housing for the monks with the help of his friend Danny Dang, Men recently enlisted the help of other poker players in order to build two separate schools in his hometown of Phanthiet: a kindergarten school and a school for third graders. Men also sold commemorative chips to other poker players, raising more than 32000 dollars to build the two schools in Vietnam.
