Women Make History as Van Nguyen Wins the WPT Celebrity Invitational

By BJ Nemeth

History was made Monday night as Van Nguyen, wife of legendary poker player Men “The Master” Nguyen, outlasted a field of 445 players to win the WPT Celebrity Invitational. It’s the first time that a woman has won a WPT event (other than WPT Ladies Night, of course).

Nguyen wasn’t the only woman to shine in this tournament, as three other women finished in the final eight — another record. In another WPT first, Debby Perkins and Beverley Kruskol were both eliminated in the final hand leading up to the final table — Perkins’ [Ad5c] and Kruskol’s [8c8s] failed to improve against Billy Baxter’s [QdQs]. WPT final tables normally seat six players, but this one would start in front of the cameras with five.

The seventh-place finisher is normally dubbed the “bubble boy” in WPT tournaments. With Perkins and Kruskol tying for sixth place, WPT video reporter Kimberly Lansing became the “bubble babe,” just missing a televised final table in her first major tournament. This tournament gave Lansing the opportunity to play with many of the top players that she has interviewed in other WPT events, and her deep finish gives her new perspective into the emotions that players face in multi-day tournaments.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational started with 445 players, including more than 100 celebrities who, in addition to the regular prizepool, were playing for a “side pot” for charity worth nearly $30,000. The final 13 celebrities would have charitable donations made in their names, up to a $10,000 donation given for the celebrity that goes the deepest. The celebrity last-longer award for 2008 goes to actor Tom McGowan, who finished in 14th place. McGowan was a Tony award nominee for his role in “La Bete” on Broadway, and is easily recognized for recurring roles he played on the hit sit-coms “Frasier” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

But everything comes back to Van Nguyen, the woman who won it all, including $100,000 and a $25,500 seat in the WPT World Championship at Bellagio this April. Her patience and timing in the early stages of the final table were perfect as she won the first nine pots she contested, along with two walks in the big blind. Nguyen didn’t lose her first pot until Hand #60. By that point, there were only three players left and she had built a solid chip lead.

Nguyen was taught to play by her husband, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and one WPT staffer nicknamed her “Mrs. Master.” This husband-and-wife team is off to an incredibly strong start in 2008. Along with Van’s WPT title, Men reached a WPT final table less than six weeks ago (3rd place, WPT Tunica), and just missed another a week after that (10th place, WPT Borgata). Men also received Player of the Tournament awards for both the World Poker Open in Tunica and here at the L.A. Poker Classic, where he won three preliminary events.

Nguyen faced tough competition from her male competitors, including runner-up Ethan Ruby, a wheelchair-bound former athlete who is part of Poker4Life, an organization that promotes charity poker tournaments. Legendary poker pro Billy Baxter (7 WSOP bracelets) finished in third.

Fourth place went to Justin Marchand, the Chief Media Officer for Card Player Media and Associate Publisher of Card Player magazine. Marchand had the distinction of being the only final tablist to earn his entry without an invitation — he won the L.A. Poker Classic media tournament. Elias Madias finished fifth.

Here is the full list of final payouts:

1st: Van Nguyen – $125,500
2nd: Ethan Ruby – $50,000
3rd: Billy Baxter – $20,000
4th: Justin Marchand – $15,000
5th: Elias Madias – $10,000
T-6th: Debby Perkins – $2,500
T-6th: Beverley Kuskol – $2,500
8th Place “Bubble Babe” – Kimberly Lansing