Men Nguyen

Men “The Master” Nguyen (born 1954 in Phan Thiet, Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.

Early years

In 1967, he dropped out of school at age 13 and became a bus driver to help support his family.

In early 1978, a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped from the Communist regime of Vietnam by boat and sailed with 87 compatriots to Pulau Besar in Malaysia.

In 1978, he received political asylum from the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California. In 1986 he would become an American citizen.

In 1984 he went on a junket to Las Vegas, Nevada and played poker for the first time in his life. He would continue to go every weekend and lose hundreds of dollars, earning him the nickname “Money Machine.” He quickly mastered the game, however, winning his first tournament in 1987.

With his poker winnings, he opened a dry cleaning business and furniture store, but sold them in 1990 because they took too much of his time and didn’t make enough money. Through these businesses he would, however, meet and work with many Vietnamese people who would fall under his tutelage.

Professional poker career

Nguyen has over 120 finishes in the money from 2000 to 2004, and has won more than 75 tournaments.

Nguyen is known for tutoring players, many of whom go on to be successful in their own right, including his cousins David Pham and Minh Nguyen. He is believed to have trained more tournament winners than anyone else, according to Benny Binion Behnen, grandson of Benny Binion. Men receives a portion of all his students’ winnings.

In 1991 one of his students gave him the nickname “The Master,” and now he is widely known as “Men the Master.” He donates a portion of the money he earns through tournaments and tutoring to charities in Vietnam, and in 1996 built a kindergarten in Vietnam.

Nguyen won the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year award in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2005 and is widely revered as one of the most fearsome cash game and tournament players in the world.

As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,800,000.

World Series of Poker Bracelets