Ain't No Thang! - Thang Luu wins Event 6

By Arthur Crowson Jun 6, 2008 | 6 months ago

Thang Luu wins Event 6 at the 2008 WSOP

Thang Luu came within one place of earning a bracelet at the 2007 WSOP, so he didn't waste any time at the 2008 WSOP, nabbing his first bracelet Thursday night in Event 6.

Luu is a mixed-game specialist and loves to play Hi-Lo games and more obscure poker variants like Badougi. A former dealer, Luu entered the limelight when he came in third at the 2005 WSOP Casino Employees event, and has been winning poker tournaments ever since.

We spoke to Luu moments after his big win.

What does it mean to you to win your first WSOP bracelet?

It feels good. [laughs] I'm going to go on vacation now. As far the title goes, I mean you play poker and no one knows you, but you when you win a bracelet people start to recognize you. It's definitely better.

What did you do before you played poker for a living?

I was a dealer. I worked at the Rio until 1999 dealing table games.

Near the end the blinds seemed to catch everybody off guard. You seemed to take advantage of the situation by playing aggressively. Would you say that's an accurate assessment?

I like to play every hand. You could see it at the end, when I was playing heads-up, I played every hand. I didn't miss a single one. I might check on the river but in Omaha Hi-Lo I'll play any hand. I don't care what I have.

Going into the final table were there any players you were worried about?

None. I knew I was chip leader from beginning to end. There were a couple hands that didn't go my way and I was a little worried but I caught right back up. Everything was fine.

Did you feel confident about heads-up play as well?

Pretty much. I knew I could win this one because he played every hand and so did I. I knew it would be a fast match.

What games do you usually play?

I play at the Bellagio and it's mostly games like Razz, Badougi, 2-7 Triple Draw. All the mixed games.

What's your best game?

I dunno. I actually probably win the most money playing Badougi. I only play Omaha in tournaments and No-Limit Hold'em only if the field is particularly big. I don't play that many No-Limit Hold'em games.

You said you were going to take a vacation - where are you going to go?

Back to Vietnam for a couple months to visit my family and do some things.

Are you going to play any more events?

Yeah. 5 p.m. tomorrow there is another Omaha event starting up and I'll be playing that. I'm aiming to play six or seven events. I like playing the Hi-Lo games and 2-7 Triple Draw. I would like to play a Badougi tournament if the WSOP had one.

Thanks and congratulations, Thang.

Thank you.

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Thang Luu will be able to go on a very long vacation with the $243,342 he earned for coming in first place at Event 6. Keep an eye out for the Las Vegas grinder in the upcoming mix games, as he's always a threat in them.