Scotty Nguyen is one of today’s most actively successful professional poker players. From 2000 to 2004 alone, Nguyen cashed in more than 100 events, while picking up two of his four WSOP Bracelets. Scotty Nguyen is best known for his charming smile and charismatic behavior at the tables, often seen holding a beer. You can almost see the spinning twinkle in his eye as his opponents fall to the wayside, one by one.

Born in South Vietnam October 28, 1962, Scotty Nguyen escaped the country by boat at the age of 14. However, according to Nguyen, he traveled on a boat with 16 others that was meant to arrive in Thailand in two days. Therefore they had only brought enough supplies to last that long. Their boat was chased off course by Communists, which resulted in a 3 week voyage. The passengers were thrown food and water from a pirate ship, but only enough to last a few more days. Scotty claims that on the twenty-second day, the voyagers decided to eat his 12 year old brother, but a sudden rescue from a Taiwanese boat on day twenty-three halted the plan. They were dropped off on an island where they spent the next 6 months before another boat arrived, carrying 49 people from Vietnam. Nguyen claims that the boat left dock with 139 passengers, but that 90 of them had been eaten by the time the boat arrived at the island.

Nguyen finally made his way to the United States, settling down in Orange County, California. Even at the ripe age of 14, Nguyen was immediately drawn to the backroom poker games. He spent so much time there, in fact, that Scotty was expelled from school. Nguyen ended up taking a job as a poker dealer in a casino in Southern California to pay the bills. To Scotty, this was his training period.

Nguyen learned his current poker strategies from watching other players at the casino as he dealt the cards. He noted the losses, the wins and the reasons for each. In this way, Scotty Nguyen developed and tweaked his own extraordinary poker skills. He began proving his abilities at the tables, bringing home more than enough to support is family, and then some.

Currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Scotty Nguyen has finished in the money 174 times, claiming 30 1st place victories, 4 WSOP Bracelets and total live tournament career earnings of $7,020,628.

Scotty Nguyen and the WSOP
Scotty Nguyen has formed quite a history playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Scotty has taken down the entire WSOP Main Event once, and has claimed a current total of 4 WSOP Bracelets. The first came on April 26, 1997 in a Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event, awarding Nguyen his first sizable prize purse of $156,950. But it was Nguyen’s second WSOP Bracelet that effected him the most.

Nguyen underwent one of the greatest, yet devastating moments in his life in 1998. On May 11, Nguyen found himself seated at the final table of the WSOP Main Event NL Hold’em Championship. After all of the opposition had been derailed, Scotty sat across the table, playing heads-up against Kevin McBride. On the final hand, Nguyen made the famous remark, “You call, gonna be all over baby!” McBride did call, and Scotty won with a 9-9-9-8-8 Full House, taking down the tournament, claiming his second WSOP Bracelet, and pocketing $1,000,000 in winnings.

The tragedy came the very next day as Scotty Nguyen received the news that his brother had been struck and killed by a car in Vietnam. Nguyen has never worn his 1998 WSOP Bracelet.

Scotty did not earn his third WSOP Bracelet until 2001, finishing 1st in Event #14 PL Omaha for a purse of $178,480. Five days later, Nguyen finished 23rd in a PL Hold’em event for a much smaller prize of $3,945. Another 3 days later, on May 11, 2001, Scotty whittled his way through the field of Event #23 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo to claim his fourth, and thus far final, WSOP Bracelet, along with an impressive cash of $207,580.

Nguyen’s most recent, significantly lucrative victory in the WSOP came on July 17, 2007 in the Main Event. He finished just shy of the final table, coming in 11th position for $476,926.

Scotty Nguyen and the WPT
Scotty has earned a large portion of his career earnings in various World Poker Tour (WPT) events. His first WPT cash was a 6th place finish at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in season 1. Nguyen was awarded $48,692 for his efforts. He went on to claim and 1st and 2nd place finish in early events of the 2002 Legends of Poker tournament. Then, in January of 2003, still in the first season of the WPT, Nguyen took on the Jack Binion World Poker Open, taking 2nd place in an early event for $76,048.

In its second season, the WPT saw Scotty Nguyen finish in the money 11 times. The most lucrative cash came on March 18, 2004 at the WPT PartyPoker Million III, as Scotty finished 6th overall in the Main Event for $129,842. Nguyen cashed another 9 times in the third season of the WPT, including a 5th place finish at the Mirage Poker Showdown for $121,509; a 1st place finish at the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship for $185,243; and a 4th place finish overall at the Jack Binion World Poker Open Main Event, awarding $336,282.

Scotty Nguyen’s most profitable WPT victory occurred January 23, 2006 at the WPT-4 Goldstrike World Poker Open. Scotty skillfully derailed each of his opponents in the NL Hold’em Championship to take the WPT title and a massive prize purse of $969,421.

Scotty Nguyen’s Other Achievements
While a significant amount of Scotty Nguyen’s career earnings have come from WSOP and WPT events, he has accomplished a few tremendous cashes in other live poker tournaments as well. On November 17, 2001, Scotty Nguyen earned $159,600 for a 1st place victory at the World Poker Finals (before it became a stop on the World Poker Tour).

October 3, 2003, Nguyen participated in the US Poker Bowl, where he finished 3rd at the final table, pocketing a cool $100,000.