Men Nguyen

Men Nguyen

aka "The Master"
Nationality
United States
United States
GPI Rank 17,796
WSOP Bracelets 7
Total Live Earnings $11,154,987
The Hendon Mob Data provided by The Hendon Mob

Biography

Men Nguyen was born in 1954 in Vietnam. At the age of 13 he became a bus driver in order to support his family. However, because of his strong anti-communist views, living in Vietnam was difficult for Nguyen, so in 1978 he left the country and sailed to Pulau Besar in Malaysia. The same year he received political asylum from the United States and went to live in Los Angeles. 8 years later Men Nguyen became the U.S. citizen.

He got first introduced to poker in 1984 in Las Vegas and although the first years of playing were not very successful, Nguyen eventually mastered the game and in 1987 won his first tournament. From the “Money Machine”, a nickname he got during his early poker years for loosing lots and lots of money, he became “Men the Master” – a respected poker pro and tutor who trained a number of tournament winners. As a teacher he receives a part of his students' winnings. Among Nguyen's apprentices were his cousins David Pham and Minh Nguyen.

The most successful for Men was the time between 2000 and 2004 when he won over 75 tournaments and had more than 120 money finishes. In 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005 he was named the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year. As of 2010 Nguyen's total lifetime winnings exceed to $9,700,000 which makes him one of the best tournament players in the world.

For many years “The Master” was accused of unethical behavior and cheating like chip dumping and card marking, however none of this was ever proved and Nguyen himself has constantly denied any allegations. The winner of 7 WSOP bracelets says that cheating goes against his religion and that God punishes people who cheat.

In the late 80s Nguyen invested his poker winnings into the dry cleaning business and a furniture store. However, they required to much of his time and didn't bring enough money, so in 1990 Nguyen had to sell them. Still, the businesses allowed Men to meet a lot of Vietnamese people and help them settle in the United States.

Men Nguyen is known to support various charities in his home country Vietnam and donate part of his tournament winnings to those in need. He used the money earned at the 1996 WSOP final table to build a kindergarten in Vietnam.

PokerNews Covered Events

Event Place Prize
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship
131st $5,931
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #45: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
55th $4,524
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #39: $1,500 Monster Stack
489th $4,248
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #18: $300 Gladiators of Poker
2782nd $480
2023 World Series of Poker
Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions
2390th $1,061
2022 World Series of Poker
Event #85: $1,500 The Closer
430th $2,405
2022 World Series of Poker
Event #72: $1,500 Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
5th $41,377
2022 World Series of Poker
Event #29: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw
53rd $2,643
2022 World Series of Poker
Event #25: $800 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack
581st $1,280
2022 World Series of Poker
Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack
70th $4,932
2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Event #13: $400 Almighty Stack
163rd $969
2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Event #4: $400 Saturday Series Deepstack
1st $50,000
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #75: $1,000+111 Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold'em
84th $6,179
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #27: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
44th $2,688
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #19: Millionaire Maker - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
487th $4,106
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
275th $2,252
2019 World Series of Poker
Event #3: BIG 50 - $500 No-Limit Hold'em
1234th $1,744
2018 WinStar River Poker Series
Main Event
14th $24,040
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #65: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT - World Championship
544th $23,940
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #62: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed - $888,888 Guaranteed 1st Place
21st $27,661
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #11: $365 PLO GIANT Pot-Limit Omaha
99th $1,461
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty
66th $3,422
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #32: $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship
121st $4,345
2018 World Series of Poker
Event #7: $565 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold’em
108th $3,754
2017 World Series of Poker
Event #60: $888 Crazy Eights No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed
789th $1,580
2017 World Series of Poker
Event #47: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em MONSTER STACK
124th $7,164
2017 World Series of Poker
Event #16: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed
60th $4,797
2017 World Series of Poker
Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em
1105th $1,366
2015 Mid-States Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville
Main Event
32nd $2,213
2014 World Series of Poker
Event #51: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Monster Stack
685th $3,077
2014 World Series of Poker
Event #44: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
101st $3,514
2013 World Series of Poker
Event #28: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
156th $3,197
2013 World Series of Poker
Event #20: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better
58th $4,366
2013 World Series of Poker
Event #18: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
85th $2,982
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 49: $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em
37th $5,476
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 13: $1,500 Limit Hold'em
74th $2,453
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry
257th $3,216
2012 World Series of Poker
Event 8: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8-or-Better
99th $2,689
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #21: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
10th $32,488
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #3: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better
27th $8,191
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed
2nd $412,746
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #10: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
1st $394,800
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
46th $10,206
2010 NAPT Venetian
2010 NAPT Venetian Main Event
47th $14,866
2009 World Series of Poker Europe
£10,000 WSOPE Main Event
26th £25,918
2009 World Series of Poker Europe
Event 2 - £2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha
4th £35,412
2009 World Series of Poker
Event 54 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em
230th $2,923
2009 World Series of Poker
Event 19 - $2,500 Six-handed No Limit Hold'em
16th $20,117
2009 L.A. Poker Classic
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship
36th $38,085
2008 World Series of Poker
39th Annual World Series of Poker Main Event
651st $21,230
2008 World Series of Poker
Event 49 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em
25th $17,437
2008 World Series of Poker
Event 47 - $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Low
17th $4,752
2007 World Series of Poker
Event 45 - $5,000 No Limit Holdem 6 Handed
48th $9,238

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