Van Nguyen first woman to win WPT event
The Celebrity Invitational has a high proportion of stars who come toplay their best poker and donate money to charity. Out of 445 players,about 100 celebrities attended, including Don Cheadle, Ricki Lake,James Woods, Oliver Hudson, Montel Williams, Jeniffer Tilly, TiaCarrere and Mimi Rogers.
In addition to the main prize fund, there is a side pot of $30,000 that goes to various charities.
Van Nguyen made it to the final table where she faced a toughcrowd, including two other
women. She finally beat Billy Baxter â€"holder of 7 WSOP bracelets â€" and
Poker4Life founder Ethan Ruby, to winfirst place and $100,000. As part of her WPT prize, Nguyen also won aseat to the WPT World Championship which will be held in April in theLas Vegas Bellagio. Plus she will go down in history as the 1st female WPT winner ever.
Van is no newcomer to the world of poker. If you recognised hersurname, that's because you've seen it before in poker circles. Van ismarried to poker pro Men “The Master” Nguyen,one of the world’s best players. Named Player of the Year in 1997,2001, 2003 and 2005 Men has won over 80 tournaments. He is known tohave mentored many young players, and it would seem he has now takenhis wife under his wing.
