09 3rd, 2010
They represent close to 5 % of the population and are the third largest minority group in the country.
The Greater Los Angeles Area itself is almost 12% Asian American and one quick look inside local poker rooms like those at The Bicycle and Commerce Casino show an even bigger percentage checking, raising and pushing all in with regularity.
Asia itself is the world’s most populated continent, and with approximately 4 billion people, have long looked at the area as the new frontier for gaming.
As the powers of online poker look to expand East, of this there is little doubt: The Asian-American population is large, growing, poker is a big part of it and it’s getting even bigger.
So, when a 37-year-old Vietnamese-American Medical Supply company employee and amateur poker player from Orange County, California came out of nowhere to book a spot at the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event this summer, certain questions arose.
Could Soi Nguyen create a Chris-Moneymaker-style poker boom in the Asian-American community, the same way the Tennessee accountant did for the rest of America with his 2003 WSOP Main Event win?
“That’s exactly what I am,” Nguyen told PokerListings. “I’m the Asian Chris Moneymaker because I’m not a pro and I don’t really have that much experience.
“I’ve never really had a chance to play that much poker because I’ve been working. But I watched Chris Moneymaker win and I said, ‘Hey, I can do this.’
“Now, everybody I talk to is thinking about playing in the Main Event next year. They see that if I can do it, they can do it too.”
But the Moneymaker boom was born out of more than just his Main Event win. It was driven by online poker’’s marketing machine.
Moneymaker practically became a household name in the United States, easily recognized almost everywhere he went from the PokerStars TV commercials the site attacked the American market with in the weeks and months following his win.
Plus, a multi-tiered sponsorship deal kept him playing in big-time tournaments and in the public eye.
But Jerry Yang’s experience tells us an Asian-American winner may not get the same kind of push behind them.
Yang won the 2007 WSOP Main Event, and while his commitment to religion and charity work may have been a large part of the equation, he did not become the catalyst for any kind of tangible boom in Asian-American poker.
In fact, outside of a few major tournaments and some charity events, Yang spends most of his time these days running his new sushi restaurant in Merced, California.
All the major marketing plans, television commercials and lucrative sponsorship deals seemed to simply pass him by.
And Yang says he’s not the only one.
“I’d like to know why Asian players don’t get the big sponsorship deals?” Yang asked. “I really would like to know. Being a World Champion, I get that question all the time. Do you know why, because we would like to know and I don’t know the answer?
“I believe, in this country, that everything people do is fair and I hate to bring the race issue into this. I don’t think its racism, but at the same time, we need to figure out what it is. We have to find a way to work together and figure out what this is all about.”
Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan are both WSOP Main Event champions and two of the most recognizable names and faces in the game. Neither has a major sponsorship deal in place.
With more than $5 million in career tournament earnings and Player of the Year title, back in 2007, J.C. Tran was among the hottest poker players on the circuit and widely considered one of the best tournament players on the planet.
Yet the Vietnamese-born and Sacramento-raised Tran was without a major sponsorship deal.
“I think it’s mainly because I’m an Asian guy and it’s tough to market an Asian guy. I mean, how many Asian guys do you see on TV?” he said in November of that year at a tournament in Lake Tahoe.
“It’s kind of not fair that I don’t get the recognition and endorsements I deserve and there are players out there who don’t do half of what I do and they do.”
Tran said he was considering walking away from tournament poker if a major sponsorship deal did not come his way. Almost three years later, he still has no deal and is playing fewer tournaments than ever before.
As a poker agent and player manager, Eric Brewstein of No-Limit Management is tasked with negotiating sponsorship deals with online poker rooms on behalf of his players.
This summer, he brokered the deal between Full Tilt Poker and the second Asian-American at the 2010 WSOP final table - Student turned online poker pro Joseph “subiime” Cheong.
Brewstein said race was never a factor.
“He got his deal based on chip position, background, historic performance and his accomplishments in poker up to date,” Brewstein explained. “I just don’t think there’s a correlation.
“I know people, other players, who have told me the sites don’t think Asian players are marketable, but I’ve never heard it from anyone directly at the sites and I don’t believe it.”
Brewstein says players like Tran, Chan and Nguyen may be overvaluing themselves in dealings with the various online poker rooms and in the case of Yang; he simply didn’t have the right people around him pushing his agenda.
“Look at (2009 WSOP champ) Joe Cada,” he said. “He put himself in a camp with people that were going to drive that engine, a young, hungry agent willing to fight for him and the right kind of marketing people to attack the business with vigor and lofty plans. Did Jerry Jang do that? I don’t think he did.”
For his part, Nguyen has been too busy dealing with the fact he’s made the final table to make plans for what he’ll do should he win the world title and $8.9 million first-place prize this November.
Or if race will play a role in it at all.
“It is a big community and there are a lot of Asian people interested in poker,” he said. “I hope that my experience will benefit the Asian community in some way. I hope it really does shine the spotlight on the Asian community and I would love to see more Asian players get sponsorship deals.
“Obviously I’m being sponsored by Full Tilt and I hope more sponsorship deals come down the line for me and others. Some of my closest friends are well know Asian poker players like Nam Le and Tuan Le. Sooner or later they will get their due.
“We are a very close knit community, we all know each other. If one of us makes the final table we root for our teammates and when I say teammates, I mean any member of the Asian community.”
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British players sit in the top three spots heading into the final table, with 20-year-old Toby Lewis from Southampton holding a slight lead over Nottingham’s Sam Trickett.
Both young players have spent the past few years making a name for themselves on the English poker scene, but the third Brit sitting in contention for the EPT Vilamoura title and €467,835 first-place prize is definitely better known for his prowess in another game.
Friend of and England football legend Teddy Sheringham, who played for the National team and won almost every individual honor at the club level in stints with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs among others, sits within striking distance of his countrymates at the top of the leaderboard.
Now, after a deep run in last year’s World Series of Poker Europe main event left him just shy of the final table there, Sheringham appears ready to be recognized as more than just a footballer on the felt.
While he’s the short stack, 2005 EPT Grand Final champ Rob Hollink will come in with a shot at a second EPT title. No one has ever won two.
The rest of the final table includes Swede Martin Jacobson, making his second EPT final eight, Jason “JaspudUF” Lee, a 25-year-old PokerStars qualifier from the United States, Portugal’s own Sergio Coutinho from nearby Oporto and Frederik Jensen, the 28-year-old Dane who burst onto the live tournament scene in January with a runner-up finish in the 2010 Aussie Millions main event.
A total of 384 players entered the €5,300 EPT Vilamoura Main Event. A winner will be crowned tonight.
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09 2nd, 2010
On today’s edition of the Daily Deal, Barney Frank may step down as Financial Services Committee Chairman; the and Fox Sports Net extend a partnership; and Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen gets taken to the cleaners by and .
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
In November, the United States will hold its general elections. On Capitol Hill, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate will be determined. If after the elections Republicans gain control of the House, then Congressman Barney Frank’s time as the Financial Services Committee Chairman may come to an end, and in the worst case scenario he would be replaced by notoriously anti-gaming Congressman Spencer Bachus.
Frank has been one of the strongest supporters of the legalization of online poker and he is currently promoting HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. The bill was marked up in the Financial Services Committee in late July and has received the support of seventy co-sponsors. Frank has been in the House since 1980 and served as the Financial Services Committee Chairman since 2007.
The World Poker Tour and Fox Sports Net announced this week that they will continue their broadcast and promotional relationship, settling on an agreement that will stretch until 2013. The World Poker Tour’s ninth Season will begin airing in January two thousand eleven, starting with the Bellagio Cup.
The broadcast will have several improvements, including new anchor Kimberly Lansing and the introduction of the beautiful Royal Flush Girls. Season nine will also debut a yet-to-be-named new analyst who will host a recurring segment called “The Raw Deal.”
New World Poker Tour CEO Steve Heller said: “This season promises to be unlike any previous incarnations of the … The shows will be faster-paced and edgier, featuring the biggest names in poker mixing it up with more up-and-coming stars, pre-final table action, and, as always, poker’s greatest and most recognizable play-by-play commentary team of and Vince Van Patten.”
HighStakesDB.com has reported that hyper-aggressive pro lost over one million dollars last Sunday… to just two opponents.
Cole South of CardRunners fame and eight-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey took Hansen for more than one point one million dollars, almost half of the “Great Dane’s” net losses on the year. HighStakesDB – which tracks the action at high-stakes online poker tables – reported that Hansen’s losses Sunday came primarily in two and four thousand Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo. He lost nearly $400,000 to Ivey in that game along with $99,000 to South, and an additional three hundred and thirty five thousand in Omaha Eight or Better when it was part of a Seven Game rotation.
All told, Hansen is down $2.3 million dollars for this year, while Ivey has cashed $3.5 million on online play. South is up eighty thousand due to a recent downswing.
Guess we should be asking for holiday gifts from Ivey, South and Jungleman this year!
Thanks for watching The Daily Deal once again, and as always be sure to bookmark Poker News Daily for the latest in poker news. Be sure to add us to your twitter feed at http://twitter.com/pokernewsdaily. I’m Sean Gibson and may the flop be with you!
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08 31st, 2010
Happy Monday to everyone! On today’s Daily Deal, the Commerce Casino receives support from several of its competitors, fires insults at , and an important figure in the Senate comes out in favor of online poker legislation. It’s all ahead… right now!
Hello, I’m Sean Gibson and welcome to the Daily Deal by Poker News Daily.
Let the battle lines be drawn. Several days after the issued a petition to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance against pro-internet gambling legislation in the United States, more casinos have come onboard to strike down the bill. In a letter issued to the press late Friday night from Commerce Casino Board members, it was revealed that the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park casinos also oppose Congressman Barney Frank’s HR 2267.
The press release claimed, “Californians wager an estimated thirteen point four billion dollars annually. That makes California the largest internet gaming market in the world, and without state legislation to protect it, critically-needed billions will be captured by offshore and out-of-state operators never to return.”
Why the Commerce Casino, Bike, or any other California casino wouldn’t just apply for a license under HR Two-Two-Six-Seven remains to be seen. PPA Executive Director John Pappas speculated in an exclusive interview with Poker News Daily, “They don’t want to compete with existing online operators or Harrah’s or Wynn or Google or anyone else who may get involved in internet gambling. They prefer to have their own fiefdom in California… A lot of lawmakers went out of their way to address their concerns via amendments, yet they still continue to oppose the bill.”
Moving over to another bitter dispute, in an interview with PokerPlayer, pro Daniel Negreanu fired off what many have deemed inappropriate comments against Annie Duke. In an article entitled “The Evolution of Daniel Negreanu,” he was asked about the two-thousand ten Ladies Event in which more than a dozen men played.
Negreanu voiced his disgust at the whole situation and then went on a tirade about Duke, who has never been an advocate of the tournament:
“What irked me is that this woman has the audacity on her website to call herself ‘the best female poker player in the world.’ So I’m like ‘how offensive are you, you f***ing c***? You want to say you’re speaking for women, yet you claim superiority over all of them.’”
Wow. Well … after afterwards Duke issued an open letter to PokerStars about the use of the c-word and the site ultimately responded, “PokerStars does not support the use of derogatory or hurtful language directed at any other player. While this was a personal matter between two players, we wish that better judgment had been used in the choice of words.”
Duke’s brother and Tony G have been among those pros weighing in on the spat.
Finally, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claimed he would support the legalization of online poker in the United States. Reid also stated he would not support any other form of online gaming, including sports betting.
Reid also won’t support anything that hurts Nevada jobs, but the Senate Majority Leader will play a huge role in whether online poker is legalized. No progress has been made on legalizing internet gambling or online poker in the Senate, so having Reid as an ally could go a long way.
That does it for today’s Daily Deal, be sure to check back every weekday for a new episode of this show. Also be sure to check back with Poker News Daily throughout your day to find out the latest in poker news. I’m Sean Gibson hoping you have an amazing week at the tables!
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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had long been on the fence regarding the legalization of online poker in the States. But when Reid sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke asking for a delay for the enforcement of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act () regulations in November of last year, it became clear that the influential politician was becoming more favorable toward poker on the internet.
This week, Reid showed even more support of online poker in the state of Nevada. According to the , Reid claimed he would support the legalization of online poker in the United States during an August 16 meeting at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. Reid also stated he would not support any other form of online gaming, including sports betting.
The news was disconcerting to Nevada gaming executives, who fear that the legalization of online poker will result in a major loss of customers in brick-and-mortar casinos.
“It (online poker) is just the tip of the iceberg and could open up this state to more online gaming,” said Bill Hughes, the Marketing Director of Peppermill, to the Reno Gazette-Journal. “It will only draw more money out of this state, from our poker rooms and eventually other facilities.”
Reid has stated that he would not support anything that hurts Nevada jobs, but the Senate Majority Leader will play a huge role in whether online poker is legalized. The House Financial Services Committee passed HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, in July and the bill is currently waiting on a vote by the full House. HR 2267 would effectively legalize online poker, overturning a 2006 law that bars offshore sites from accepting money from U.S. bettors.
Congress is on summer recess until September 8, at which point Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) hopes the House Ways and Means Committee will mark up their tax companion bill, HR 4976, and bring both measures to the floor.
Meanwhile, gaming properties in Nevada, such as Harrah’s Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, are in the process of developing strategies to monetize the legalization of internet gaming. With the future of sites like , , and Poker up in the air following the markup amendments of HR 2267, people like Jan Jones, Harrah’s Senior Vice President for Communications and Government Relations, seem to think online poker would improve Nevada’s gaming market.
“If you look at the businesses that are surviving today, they approach their customers in three ways,” Jones told the Gazette-Journal. “One is brick and mortar. One is direct marketing sales, and the other is the internet.
“The businesses that have not done that have gone out of business. Look at record stores. Look at newspapers. In the gaming industry, we need to realize, where are the X-Y generation customers? They are all on the internet. That is where they play. That is where they congregate, and if we don’t leverage the internet, then we run the risk of becoming an old person’s entertainment.”
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest news on Capitol Hill.
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Let the battle lines be drawn. Several days after the (PPA) to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance against pro-internet gambling legislation in the United States, more casinos have come onboard to strike down the bill.
In a letter issued to the press late Friday night from Commerce Casino Board members Tom Malkasian and Haig Papaian, it was revealed that the Bicycle Casino, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park also oppose Congressman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 2267. None of the three additional casinos was quoted in any way.
Calling industry lobbying groups like the PPA “special interest groups receiving funds from illegal offshore gaming operators,” Malkasian and Papaian assert, “Poker players deserve to know the real facts so let us be clear: We support online poker and we are working hard to make sure it will benefit all Americans. America’s poker community should be united in opposing the Frank legislation that would ship jobs, revenue, and taxes beyond our communities. We need to work together to keep American dollars at home.”
The authors of the letter claim to employ more than 20,000 workers in California, a state that has been hit with a massive budget shortfall. It also cites a 2008 study from the California Public Policy institute saying that 70% of California residents use the internet and “according to another study in 2009, Californians wager an estimated $13.4 billion annually. That makes California the largest internet gaming market in the world, and without state legislation to protect it, critically-needed billions will be captured by offshore and out-of-state operators never to return.”
On Friday, PPA Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily that 6,000 players had signed an online petition found at to reverse the Commerce Casino’s stance. The organization was gunning for 10,000 names in total.
In response to the press release from the Commerce Casino Board members, pro chided via Twitter, “Your press release might be more credible if you got the bill number correct. It’s HR 2267.” The press release cites the Commerce Casino’s opposition to HR 4976, the tax companion bill to HR 2267 proposed by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA). However, Malkasian’s testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee last month was wholeheartedly against Frank’s HR 2267.
In reaction to the harsh opposition set forth by the Commerce Casino, Pappas commented, “There are requirements in HR 2267 that companies set up at least 50% of their operations in the United States. On their concern of illegal operators, anyone who has been operating illegally won’t be able to get a license. It’s pretty clear their only concern is that they don’t want to compete.” A dozen amendments were added to HR 2267 in a markup hearing held one month ago to the day addressing many of the Commerce Casino’s concerns.
The Commerce Casino’s statements wraps up by saying, “We strongly support poker-only legislation. California lawmakers should be the first to bring an illegal enterprise under legal supervision, provide needed consumer protections, and capture revenue that can benefit our state first.” An e-mail address of supportonlinepoker@commercecasino.net is given for players looking for additional information.
Among the 6,000 poker players that have signed the PPA’s online petition are , , , , , , and new pro . All that’s required to sign is your name, city, and state. The PPA has even gone so far as to provide an avenue for players to Tweet the Commerce Casino automatically. Alternately, you can leave your telephone number and the PPA will personally patch you through to the Commerce Casino.
The addition of the Bike, Hawaiian Gardens, and Hollywood Park may open the rift even further between online poker players seeking legislation and the brick-and-mortar casinos they placate. Calls for a boycott of the Commerce have surfaced and many of the aforementioned “illegal offshore gaming operators” sponsor pros like Ivey, Duke, and Sebok through their dot-net counterparts. The Bike and Commerce both hold events, with the former fresh off crowning a champion in the Legends of Poker.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily on Sunday for an exclusive response from Pappas.
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08 27th, 2010
In September, the fundraising engine will hold the first ever National Poker Month. Card rooms across the United States will host tournaments in which half of the prize pool will be donated to charity, while the other half will be distributed to players. Poker Gives benefits the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Special Olympics of Nevada, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and the Step by Step Foundation.
Poker News Daily Guest Columnist and Poker Gives co-founder commented in a press release distributed last week, “In addition to all the goodwill it will bring to poker when we are able to present such large checks to charity, the participating card rooms will be listed in Bluff Magazine and we will conduct a drawing from that list. , Jan Fisher, and I will visit the winning card room and host a meet-and-greet and a free poker seminar.”
A total of 25 card rooms are holding events as part of National Poker Month at the time of writing including Harrah’s Tunica, Poker Nation Social Club in Phoenix, Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Washington State, Venetian Las Vegas, Win River Casino in California, Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Seminole Casino Immokalee in Florida, Oceans Eleven Casino in California, Prairie’s Edge Casino and Resort in Minnesota, River Rock Casino in California, The Bike in Los Angeles, Binion’s Las Vegas, and the Canterbury Park Racetrack and Card Club in Minnesota.
Other National Poker Month events can be found at Aria Las Vegas, Hollywood Park in California, Jacksonville Greyhound Racing and Poker in Florida, Eureka in Mesquite, El Dorado in Reno, Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Washington State, Peppermill Reno, Wildhorse in Oregon, Paradise Cove Social Club in Arizona, Casino Marysville in California, and Isle Casino at Pompano Park in Florida. and Poker Nations are also teaming up for an online event on September 19th at 1:00pm PT.
Winners of each card room tournament and the names of each card room manager will be thrown into a hat and entered into drawings for prizes on October 4th. The loot up for grabs includes two seats into the () Invitational at the Commerce Casino in California, a WPT Boot Camp seat, a Card Player Cruises vacation, and hour poker lessons with Sexton and Johnson.
Price tags for the various casino events range from $20 to $225. The online event is $20, half of which will go to Poker Gives, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity organization. Poker Gives was founded two years ago and announced National Poker Month in a press release back in April. Its mission is to use poker, a popular social game, as a vehicle to raise money for charity.
Back in March, hosted a $5+$5 charity tournament benefiting Poker Gives. The organization is the charity of choice for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, which will host an induction ceremony for its 2010 class of , , and Billie Brown on September 3rd. $75 pre-event tickets are on sale through the Women in Poker Hall of Fame website along with $25 ceremony only passes. Brown will be recognized posthumously.
Card rooms interested in participating in September’s National Poker Month should contact Poker Gives via e-mail or phone at sassy@pokergives.org or 702-860-7413. Visit the for more information.
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08 23rd, 2010
The ‘s Executive Producer, Joe Grimm, is interviewed from The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles which is hosting the Legends of Poker event. Grimm was on hand at “The Bike” to watch auditions for a new segment which will appear during Season 9 of the WPT, dubbed “The Raw Deal”. The segment will feature a fresh face to the world of poker, who will offer up raw edged opinions about those that appear at the final table. Auditions for this new team member to the WPT family were open, meaning anyone could come by The Bike on August 19th and try out for the part. In addition to the live auditions, for people that couldn’t make it out to Los Angeles, the WPT set up a Facebook page where people could upload their own videos with the general public voting for their favorites.
During this interview with our own Sean Gibson, Grimm talks about the audition process and who’s impressed him so far and the response the WPT has gotten to the process. He also talks about why the Legends of Poker tournament is one of his sentimental favorites and why it makes for compelling television.
Joe Grimm has been the Executive Producer for the World Poker Tour since 2002 and is a graduate from the prestigious Theater Arts program at the University of California, Los Angeles. Grimm graduated Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa.
The World Poker tour is in its ninth season and aires in the United States on Fox Sports Net. The Legends of Poker event is held annually from The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA (inside Los Angeles County) with the 2010 event buy-in being reduced to $5,000, down from the historical cost of $10,000. This year’s event attracted 462 participants to create a prize pool of $2,151,072.
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08 23rd, 2010
There was plenty of action around the world this past week in poker with events wrapping up in Scotland, Brazil and across the United States. Massive prizepools were generated from buy-ins that weren’t so large, making for some very hefty…
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08 13th, 2010
On its one-year anniversary, the ESPN.com poker news program “Inside Deal” welcomed “The Prince of Poker,” 1998 () Main Event champ . In celebration, a special “Baby-O-Meter” ran in the corner of the screen, counting the number of times Nguyen dropped his trademark word.
The rumored sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas took center stage to open this week’s episode of “Inside Deal.” WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart joined the set via phone and explained, “We can’t predict the future, but I can tell you that the November Nine will definitely be played at the Penn and Teller Theater, and big, large organizational meetings are already underway to host the 2011 WSOP at the Rio.” The action in the Main Event resumes on November 6th.
Meanwhile, the 2010 WSOP Europe schedule begins on September 14th. Stewart was looking forward to the five-event series: “We’re back at the Empire, which has really been a solid home for the WSOP in London. It seems that special things just happen there. It’s where broke out. It’s where we set the record for the longest final table when won. It’s where we’ve had November Niners do so well and make the final three in back-to-back years.” The £10,350 buy-in WSOP Europe Main Event begins on September 23rd.
Also discussed on this week’s cycle of “Inside Deal” was the departure of from . “Inside Deal” host explained the background to Boeree becoming a free agent: “This situation has been brewing a while, basically since the Main Event. A lot of people were very surprised when she was not wearing a UB.com logo as she did during the previous bracelet events.” Lee added that Boeree could sign with or , the latter of which is searching for two women to flank its Brunson 10.
Meanwhile, Nguyen is preparing to publish his life story and turning to a fan to write it. Nguyen told Lee and fellow “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “The people of the United States of America allowed me to become who I am, so I want to give back. I want to give one of the fans an opportunity to make it big in life, the same way they gave me a chance to make it big. That’s what happened, baby.”
Nguyen revealed that he was on a boat for 23 days fleeing from Vietnam to Thailand and ran out of oil and food after two days. Now, he may become a member of the Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010. Nguyen was nominated last year, but did not make the final cut purportedly due to character issues. Nguyen explained, “Everything happens for a reason. I would never be disappointed if I don’t get nominated because everything – you have to earn it – you have to work hard for it. If this year, I don’t get in, it’s going to be next year and I’ll work harder and harder.”
Nguyen’s overzealous use of the word “baby” began in 1997, when the phrase made it easier to interact with his poker tablemates. In 2008, Nguyen took down the $50,000 HORSE Championship while allegedly inebriated, spouting off a tidal wave of expletives on national television. On the incident, Nguyen asserted, “I apologized to the fans all over the world, wherever I go and wherever I play. Wherever I go, the media always ask me the same question, so I tell them there are no excuses about my behavior. Sometimes winning is not everything; you have to win in a pretty way, not an ugly way.”
Throughout his career, Nguyen’s focus has remained the fans, which have largely stood by him despite episodes like the HORSE Championship. “The fans are everything,” Nguyen remarked. “A lot of poker players forget how they got there. Without the fans recognizing you, you would never become who you are right now. They give you support, they give you love, and they point out what you do wrong and what you do right. All they do is make you become a better person and a better poker player.”
Nguyen dropped 44 “baby” bombs during the course of the 10-minute interview. Catch new episodes of “Inside Deal” every Tuesday on ESPN.com.
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