| Qui Nguyen | |
| Nickname: | Tommy Gun |
| Hometown: | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Wsop Bracelet Count: | 1 |
| Wsop Final Tables: | 1 |
| Wsop Money Finishes: | 6 |
| Wsop Main Event Best Finish Rank: | Winner |
| Wsop Main Event Best Finish Year: | 2016 |
| Updated: | 2016-11-02 |
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 against Vayo's on a board of .[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]