A
Nguyen-Nguyen Deal at the World Series
of Poker: Minh Nguyen Wins
Second Gold Bracelet !
"This (win) was really special
to me. But nothing beats the first time
you win a bracelet."
Minh
Nguyen (following his second career WSOP
championship)
Nearly a year to the day when he won his
first World Series of Poker title, MINH
NGUYEN triumphed yet again, winning his
second gold bracelet within a one-year
period. NGUYEN'S first conquest came on
April 21st, 2003 when he won the $1,500
buy-in Omaha High-Low and pocketed $106,000.
This time, NGUYEN topped a powerful field
of 363 players and won $155,420 and became
the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em champion
for 2004.
The
final table began with nine players. ANDREAS
DASSOPOULOS, a 69-year-old retiree, started
with a slight chip lead at $98K - over
LORNE "THE ROCKET" PERSONS, an insurance
salesman from Eau Claire, WI ($92K) and
MINH NGUYEN, a top respected tournament
pro from Washington State (with $84K).
After
battling for about a half hour, four players
went out within a 20-minute period. STEVE
FORD started off with $36K and holding
A-K) called in "all-in" raise by JOE BARTHOLDI,
with Q-Q. FORD needed an ace or king to
fall, which didn't - and FORD was driven
off the final table in 9th place with
$24,500 in prize money.
Moments
later, 1996 world champion HUCK SEED went
out when he was desperately low on chips
and made his last raise with a weak ace.
DASSOPOULOS picked up J-J and poisoned
SEED's chances for victory. SEED, who
is currently 10th on the all-time money
winner�s list at the World Series with
nearly $2 million in lifetime earnings
in this tournament alone, added $15,020
to his bankroll for a 8th place finish.
Next,
TONY BLOOM moved "all in' with pockets
8s and was called by MINH NGUYEN with
A-Q. A queen flopped and doomed BLOOM's
hope of winning. TONY BLOOM, a pro sports
bettor and hedge fund manager with wins
at the "Aussie Millions" and several major
tournaments in England, was the 7th place
finisher - worth $20,040.
HOANG
TA, who plays most of the Southern California
tournaments, lost the majority of his
chips when he experienced the "nightmare"
of nightmares for poker players. TA had
5-5 and flopped a 5, giving him a set.
Normally, such a thing would be the perfect
trap hand, but not when your opponent
flops a higher set. This time, LORNE PERSONS
had pocket 10s and hit a 10 on the flop.
TA was crippled by the defeat and went
out a short time later when his K-Q fell
to DASSOPOULOS" A-6 suited. An ace on
the flop hung HOANG TA out to dry in 6th
place - worth $25,040 in prize money.
KIRIL
GERASIMOV, from Moscow, Russia burst upon
the tournament scene a few years ago when
he became the world champion "Heads Up"
player in 2002, then finished second at
the Bellagio tournament in 2003. GERASIMOV
started with "presto" (5-5), which crashed
and burned when DASSOPOULOS was dealt
hold'em's best hand - pocket aces. The
aces prevailed, and GERASIMOV went "back
to the (former) USSR" with a mountain
of rubles -- $30,060.
It was anyone�s tournament to win at that
point, as all of the four remaining finalists
were very close in chips. ANDREAS DASSOPOULOS
expected to catapult into the chip lead
when he was dealt K-K, but instead took
a bad beat when MINH NGUYEN made a straight
on the turn.
DASSOPOULOS,
who came into the finale with the chip
lead, finished a disappointing 4th. A
payout of $35,060 helped to soften the
blow.
With
every player guaranteed to make at least
40 grand, the chip counts stood as follows:
ROCKET: $219K
NGUYEN: $183K
BARTHOLDI: $143K
Play
resumed with blinds at $3K-6K. JOE BARTHOLDI,
who cashed for $42,000 less than two weeks
ago at a major Las Vegas tournament, became
more aggressive, hoping to take advantage
of some timidity on the part of his opponents.
But BARTHOLDI made a big mistake when
he came over the top of MINH NGUYEN with
a re-raise holding a hand that took way
the worst of it. BARTHOLDI had A-8, which
was dominated by NGUYEN's A-10. BATHOLDI
loved the flop when it came Q-9-8, good
for a pair (and the mathematical advantage
with two cards to come). But a 10 on the
river was a nail in the coffin for BARTHOLDI.
Third-place paid $40,080.
When
heads-up play commenced, LORNE "THE ROCKET"
PERSONS enjoyed a slight chip lead --
$285K to $265K. On the first key hand,
THE ROCKET slow-played his A-K perfectly
after the flop came A-K-9. That was good
enough to take a $100K pot and NGUYEN
mucked his hand without showing. THE ROCKET
took a 3 to 1 chip lead on the next hand
when he moved in with enough chips to
cover NGUYEN after the flop came 10-7-5,
with two diamonds. NGUYEN made a move
at the pot with a bet of $40K, and THE
ROCKET came over the top. NGUYEN folded.
A dozen hands later, NGUYEN was down to
just $75K in chips and it seemed the tournament
was about to end.
Sure enough, the final table was about
to end - but not in the way many might
have expected. In an amazing half-hour
turnaround, NGUYEN seemed to get the better
cards and became the aggressor, moving
THE ROCKET off his game, and slowly building
his stack back to the point where he was
in contention. Arguably, the key hand
of the tournament took place when NGUYEN
was dealt A-8 of hearts versus THE ROCKET's
8-9 of diamonds. The flop came 9-5-5 with
two hearts and when the commotion died
down, NGUYEN was "all in" on the flush
draw. NGUYEN caught a heart on the turn,
and in a stunning turn of events had seized
the chip lead away from THE ROCKET.
It
took another 45 minutes to ultimately
decide the winner. The final twenty minutes
or so were a disaster for the insurance
man from Wisconsin. He was handcuffed
by a run of dismal cards and watched in
frustration as NGUYEN's stack continued
to grow.
The
final hand of the night was dealt about
4 hours into the final table:
THE ROCKET: 10-10
NGUYEN: 10-3 (of hearts)
THE
ROCKET was a huge favorite, and hoped
to trap NGUYEN for a big payoff when 6-5-3
flopped. THE ROCKET checked his overpair,
giving NGUYEN a free card. A second heart
fell on the turn, which opened up the
possibility of a flush for NGUYEN. That
looked dangerous to THE ROCKET and he
made an "all in" bet, which was called
instantly by NGUYEN. A third heart came
on the river, and NGUYEN was the new champion.
The runner up was LORNE "THE ROCKET" PERSON.
He collected $80,140. The winner, MINH
NGUYEN was thrilled with his victory.
Afterward, he admitted that the last year
has not been easy on the tournament trail.
After cashing big at last year's World
Series of Poker, Nguyen ran cold for several
months and hoped to regain to energy at
this year's championships.
"I thought I was going to win," NGUYEN
said following his victory. "I told everyone
that I would win in less than four hours."
Sure enough, the final table clocked in
a 3 hours and 50 minutes.
MINH
NGUYEN is a cardroom manager and host
in Spokane, WA. He has now cashed eight
times at the World Series of Poker. Including
11th in the main event last year (netting
$80,000). Nguyen is the first player to
make two final tables at this year's WSOP.
He finished 7th in the $1,500 buy in Seven-Card
Stud event last week.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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