Player Profile - Men Nguyen
April 16, 2007 - Deanna Goodson
Men Nguyen was born in 1954 in Pan Thiet, Vietnam. In 1967 Men left school in order to help his family by becoming a bus driver. This selfless act, at the mere age of 13, would foreshadow the charitable nature and familial devotion that this poker icon continues to demonstrate today. Men was a staunch anti-communist. His political beliefs led him to his escape his homeland, along with eighty-seven other Vietnamese refugees, back in 1978. They took the dangerous but necessary seaward journey to Pulau Besar in Malaysia and freedom.
Later that same year, Men moved to Los Angeles, California, after receiving political asylum in the United States. In 1984, two years before he became an American citizen, Men took a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. He had his first poker experience. It would change his life and impact the lives of many others.
After his initial introduction to the game, Men was hooked. Every weekend, he would return to Vegas. At first, he lost so much money that his first nickname was the “Money Machine.” However, Men was determined to improve his skills. It didn’t take him long to won his first tournament which opened the final doors to a life of poker stardom in 1987. He tried the responsible route at first using his poker winnings to open a dry cleaning business as well as a furniture store, but soon realized he wasn’t making the kind of money he could with poker. Besides, these other endeavors got in the way of his doing what he loved the most, playing poker. So, he sold his business. Soon after that, he met and married his wife, Tuyet. They have eight children together (five girls and three boys).
Men has had many accomplishments in poker including over 120 finishes in the money just from 2000 to 2004. He’s also won over 75 tournaments in his almost two-decade-long poker careers. He is a millionaire many times over and has shared his knowledge with others including his cousins David “The Dragon” Pham and Minh Nguyen, both of whom are very successful poker pros in their own right. He also used his celebrity and earnings to help build temples and schools in his homeland, among other charitable endeavors.
Men has a total of six World Series of Poker bracelets in a variety of events including Seven Card Stud, Razz, Deuce-to-Seven Lowball, Omaha and Limit Holdem. He’s also made a bunch of final tables at the World Poker Tour and recently won his first World Series of Poker Circuit Event. Recently, he signed with Doylesroom.com and is one of a handful of talented pros who plays exclusively at the site.
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