Qui Nguyen (poker player)

For the Vietnamese American playwright, see Qui Nguyen.

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.

Qui Nguyen
Nguyen at the 2016 World Series of Poker
Nickname(s)	Tommy Gun
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Born	1977 (age 47–48)[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.

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 2024, Nguyen's total live tournament winnings exceed $8,150,000, 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]

World Series of Poker bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize (US$)
2016	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event	$8,005,310