| 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.
Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla
Tournament Directors - Matt Savage and Jim Miller | 
