Qui Nguyen of Las Vegas poses with family and friends after defeating Gordon Vayo of San Francisco to win the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016.
Published Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 | 5:50 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016 | 3:25 a.m.
Qui Nguyen faced a World Series of Poker Main Event final table packed with online poker prodigies and opponents more accomplished than him over the last three nights at the Penn & Teller Theater inside the Rio.
It didn’t matter. The 39-year-old local former nail salon owner outlasted them all, winning $8 million and emerging as the newest world champion of poker.
Gordon Vayo, a 27 year old professional poker player who currently lives in San Francisco, was the final obstacle to overcome. And, if nothing else, Vayo provided a protracted one.
Their heads-up match lasted more than eight hours and 181 hands, both records since the WSOP implemented the “November Nine” format in 2008.
Vayo entered their heads-up match with a 64 million chip lead, but Nguyen cut into the advantage immediately and took over permanently within 12 hands.
Vayo was short-stacked for the vast majority of their battle, and met his demise when he was down to around 40 million for the second time. He shoved all-in with Jack-10 of spades and Nguyen called with a dominating King-10 of clubs.
The flop fell King-7-9 to give Vayo a straight draw, but it materialized on neither the 2 turn nor the 4 river as Nguyen began to celebrate with his family and friends.
Not only did Nguyen, who had just $9,029 of previous WSOP earnings, outlast Vayo and the seven other finalists, but he also outplayed them. Nguyen played with reckless abandon that caught everyone else at the table off guard, as they struggled to read when he was strong or when he was just bluffing.
There were plenty instances of both once the tournament that started with 6,737 players got down to two. On one of the biggest early heads-up pots, Nguyen rivered a flush and put Vayo to a decision for all of his chips.
Vayo correctly folded after nearly 10 minutes of deliberation, but made a mistake when Nguyen pulled the same move a few hands later. Nguyen shoved all-in with a bluff on a board with four spades when he only had a pair of Aces, the same hand as Vayo.
Vayo regrouped and inched closer to Nguyen on several occasions, but never close enough.
Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table.
Poker might stage the only world championship where the crowd thins as the stakes increase.
Six of the players who reconvened on Sunday to play at the final table in the World Series of Poker Main Event are out. They’ve taken their cheering sections of friends and family with them, leaving the Penn & Teller Theater inside the Rio with fewer spectators for tonight’s final session of play.
The $8 million first-place prize will go to either Qui Nguyen, Cliff Josephy or Gordon Vayo. Their rails of supporters are assembled as play has gotten under way, with ESPN following and airing on a 30-minute delay starting at 6 p.m.
The three were the favorites coming into the table, holding the top three spots in the chip standings. They’ve rearranged through 166 hands as part of the “November Nine.”
Nguyen, a 39-year-old from Las Vegas, went from second in chips to first with an overwhelming 197.6 chips. Josephy has actually lost more than 24 million chips since play resumed, dropping him from first to third with 50 million chips.
Vayo has played snug poker but managed to add 20 million chips, putting his total at 89 million and securing second place. Vayo might be the most technically solid player, as he’s been a highly successful online player for nearly a decade.
The 50-year-old Josephy is the biggest name, given that’s he won two previous WSOP bracelets and backed several other notable poker players. But neither has been able to compete with the previously anonymous Nguyen, who’s used aggression to get within striking range of becoming one of the most improbable champions ever.
Stick with the Sun for live coverage from the Penn & Teller Theater all night. Please note that updates will come live, and not with the ESPN broadcast.
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy