Whatever happened to Infomercial King Tom Vu? Tom Vu is umbiquitous with the most ridiculous, yet still successful series of infomercials ever perpetrated on the North American public.
Tom Vu promised that by attending his free 90-minute seminar you'd learn the same secrets he used to make millions and you could use them too. Then all the accouterments of wealth that Tom enjoyed would be yours as well: mansions, luxury cars, yachts, and, most of all, dozens of luscious babes ready to please you for the rest of your life. The barely-dressed ladies appeared all over this infomercial as lovely backdrops: there they were playing backgammon, sipping cocktails in the yacht's bar, sunning themselves in various alluring poses, standing around the pool at the "Tom Vu Mansion" in Florida, bending over the edge of the yacht so as to give the viewers an eyeful of their firm-yet-supple rears. Despite the ubiquity of these women, Tom Vu never made any on-air reference to them, and although they often flanked him on both sides and even draped their hands on his shoulders, he was never shown having any direct interaction 
with them. But though the message sent by the pictures of Tom and his babes may have been indirect, the libidinous male imagination needs little prompting to make the connection. The viewers with their well-worn Playboy centerfolds and their dog-eared copies of the PenthouseForum understood that if they had Tom Vu's millions they too would have conga lines of luscious females snaking through their own yacht and mansion-and the surest way to make Tom's money was to attend Tom's seminar.
Perhaps the best example of his style can be seen in the spiel he gives in front of a water fountain on one of his "estates:"
"I hope you enjoy seeing my waterfall as much as I do. I built this water fountain right in front of my estate, so I feel good about it. I feel successful every time I come home. Speaking of waterfall, that remind me of a secret that made me to become very wealthy....Years ago, when I was a busboy at the country club I used to work at, one night I got all the guts in this world. I walk over to this nice old man. I gave him some water, and I say, "Sir, I'm giving you some water. Would you please tell me how to be rich like you, sir?" And lucky for me the old man say, "Well, boy, stay after work. I show you how." I condensed that old man's secret into just three little words-three beautiful words that brought Tom Vu from poverty to be multimillionaire...You know, in the last ten years on the way to make these millions wasn't easy. At first I got lots of discouragement from friends and stranger who are loser. You know what these people kept telling me? They kept saying, "Well Tom Vu, you're a crazy nut. Here you are a poor immigrant...Look at all people out there; they're smarter than you, and they're not even rich. Who are you to try?" And you know what, I had to keep telling these people every time, I kept saying, "You a loser! Get out of my way! I make it somehow!"...I treasure that old man's secret in my heart forever. If you want to become wealthy, come to my seminar; let me share with you the three little words that can change anyone's life. I know some of you may say, "Why Tom don't go ahead and tell me those three little words right now to get it over with?" Well, nothing worth millions like this come easy in life, my friend, You got to make an effort, you got to get in your car, take the time out, come to the seminar, learn the three little words that can make anyone change their life."
Tom's personable manner helped soften the over-the-top build-up given him. The announcer repeatedly boomed, "Tom Vu: The Man, The Life, The Mission." Much of this infomercial consisted of the announcer beginning statements with "Tom Vu says..." interspersed with Tom revealing bits of his wisdom to the viewers. That "Tom Vu says" treatment almost made him out to be some sort of revered authority from ancient history. Or maybe it's patterned after the famous "Confucius say" of fortune cookies:
Tom Vu says there are plenty of real estate bargains for you to make big money if you know how.
"Come to my seminar" was the constant refrain of this infomercial. And throughout the infomercial, Vu responded to the objections viewers might have for not attending this life-changing event. Did you have other plans already-such as going to work or maybe burying your mother? "Well, what is your priority, my friend? There is no plan better than a plan for our financial future. And this is a proven plan." But do you still think you should be doing your job instead? "You should stop making someone else rich"-as if couch potatoes watching Tom Vu infomercials in the middle of the night are making anyone rich. To those who would discourage you from attending, Tom offered this fierce suggestion: "Take a look at them from head to toe. If they are nothing, stay away from them. You want to learn from success not failure."
From his chintzy home office, a stout, middle-aged, bald man, in a mustache, large glasses, and button-up blue shirt with an open collar, plunked down a stack of books and tapes and declared that these don't work but Tom's training will. This man incarnates the very archetype of the people who filled up all those hotel conference rooms in suburbs all across America to attend Tom Vu's seminar, convinced that they too were bound to make it big in real estate.
Many think that Tom Vu is in jail and lost his fortunes but the reality is he didn't! Tom is now a succesful Professional Poker player and has earned $1,506,305 as of May 20, 2009. He has many impressive finishes including a 2nd place finish in the 2007 World Series of Poker $1000 No Limit Texas Hold'em Event winning $364,761.
To see a recent, copyrighted picture of Tom Vu and see his entire Professional Poker winnings on the Hendon Mob Poker Web Site click: Tom Vu
Tom Vu, the fodder of jokes and punch lines almost 20 years after he first aired his infomercials.
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