Qui Nguyen (poker player)

For the Vietnamese American playwright, see Qui Nguyen.

Qui Nguyen
Nguyen at the 2016 World Series of Poker
Nickname(s)Tommy Gun
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada
Born1977 (age 46–47)[1]
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)1
Final table(s)1
Money finish(es)6
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		Winner, 2016
Information last updated on 2 November 2016.

Qui Nguyen (born 1977) is a Vietnamese-American poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He won the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event, earning $8,005,310.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam before emigrating to the United States in 2001 at the age of 24. He initially settled in California and worked in a nail salon before moving to Las Vegas in 2007. Nguyen began playing poker in 2003, concentrating on small limit hold’em cash games.[2] He turned to no limit games upon arriving to Las Vegas and recorded several cashes in small buy-in events. His only WSOP cash prior to the Main Event came in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event in 2009 for $9,029.[3]

Nguyen won his seat in the 2016 Main Event through a $1,100 satellite.[4] He played through the Main Event and reached the November Nine in second chip position. After a final table which lasted 364 hands, Nguyen defeated Gordon Vayo on the 181st hand of heads-up with his K♣ 10♣ against Vayo's J♠ 10♠ on a board of K♦ 9♣ 7♦ 2♠ 3♥.[5]

As of 2017, Nguyen's total live tournament winnings exceed $8,050,000, most of which came from his main event victory.[6]

Qui Nguyen's autobiography, From Vietnam to Vegas! How I won the World Series of Poker Main Event, was published in November 2017 by D&B Publishing. In the 450 page book, Nguyen dissects over 170 key hands from the final table, and tells his life story as well. Steve Blay is the co-author.[7] Steve Blay is the founder of, and software engineer behind, AdvancedPokerTraining.com. Blay used his software to create bots simulating each of the November Nine's playing style. These simulations kept predicting a Qui Nguyen victory. When Nguyen heard of these results, he flew Blay out to Las Vegas to help him train for the final table.[8] After his WSOP victory, D&B publishing reached out to Nguyen and Blay to share their story.

As of November 2017, Qui Nguyen lives in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas, Nevada, with his son Kyle.[9]

  1. ^ Nguyen, Qui; Blay, Steve (2017). From Vietnam to Vegas! How I Won the World Series of Poker Main Event. D&B Publishing. ISBN 978-1909457805.
  2. ^ Lee, Bernard (September 30, 2016). "Qui Nguyen embraces November Nine as opportunity to improve his life". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  3. ^ "40th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2009, No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Qui Nguyen: 2016 WSOP November Nine Bio". Pokerlistings.com. July 18, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  5. ^ "Former nail salon owner wins $8M at World Series of Poker". The Detroit News. Associated Press. November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Qui Nguyen's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Davy, Lee (December 29, 2016). "D&B Publishing to launch Qui Nguyen autobiography in time for 2017 November nine". CalvinAyre.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Serpico, Ryan (November 4, 2016). "Gainesville bots train World Series of Poker champ". Gainesville.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  9. ^ Holloway, Chad (November 29, 2017). "2016 WSOP Champ Qui Nguyen Talks to CardsChat About His New Book 'From Vietnam to Vegas!: How I Won the World Series of Poker Main Event'". CardsChat.com. Retrieved November 30, 2017.