Scotty Nguyen the Prince of Poker

by Bodog Poker | Nov 20 2008

Born in 1962 to a poor family in Vietnam, Scotty Nguyen made his way to Southern California at the age of 14. It was there that he got his start in poker by playing back-room games and dealing at casinos.

In 1997 Nguyen won his first WSOP bracelet when he took down the Omaha Eight or Better preliminary event. He had already been making a good living playing poker tournaments but the $156,950 and the bracelet established him in a way his previous winnings hadn’t.

Nguyen solidified his status as a poker force to be reckoned with in 1998 when in heads-up play at the final table against Kevin McBride, he famously stated, “You call, it’s gonna be all over baby.”

McBride did call on a board of 9-9-8-8-8 and Scotty proved himself correct as he was holding a 9 giving him the better full house. This would earn Nguyen his second WSOP bracelet and the $1,000,000 that went with it.

Sadly, this triumph was immediately overshadowed by tragedy as the next day Nguyen’s brother was struck and killed by a car back in Vietnam. Out of respect, Nguyen to this day will not wear the bracelet he earned for the victory.

In 2007 Nguyen made a deep run in the WSOP Main Event and at times was among the chip leaders. He then went on to lose three key hands and bust out in 11th place. Immediately after being eliminated Nguyen took the microphone and graciously gave thanks to several different groups.

"First off, congratulations to all these players here. I wish the best to all of you. But the most important thing, I want to say thank you to the fans. You guys are so wonderful. I'm real disappointed, but you know, baby, you give me all I need every time I walk around, wherever I go. I want you thank you, ESPN, Bluff, the whole crew, the whole staff. Everybody. Thank you so much. I wish I could give you more, but you know what, 2007 is [over for] me. See you next year."

After that Nguyen reportedly went into a deep funk. His wife stated that he barely ate or played poker. A couple months later he got back on his feet and vowed to win either 2008 WSOP Main Event or the 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship. Amazingly, the next year he went on to do just that by taking down the HORSE Championship and the nearly $2,000,000 that went with it.

Nguyen’s victory came with significantly less grace than his loss did on 2007. He came across to many of his fans as being drunk and belligerent. Nguyen apologized formally afterwards but couched his words as to deny any real culpability. Poker players came out on both sides of the issue with some stating that he didn’t do anything wrong and other saying he disgraced the game they love.

But no matter which side of the fence you are on regarding his behavior in the 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship, the fact remains that Scotty Nguyen is one of the best poker players in the world. He has won five WSOP bracelets and continues to consistently place deep in the money with a total of 36 money finishes in major live poker tournaments.