Of all the professional poker players known for their flaring tempers or loose lips, Scotty Nguyen barely ranks on the scale. The poker pro has not often been in the spotlight for being involved in a poker controversy, but that all changed last year.
Dubbed the Prince of Poker by his fans, Nguyen faced off against Michael DeMichele and Erik Lindgren in the closing stages of the Chip Reese Memorial $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament at the World Series of Poker in 2008. Although the allegedly drink- and frustration-fueled ranting was unpunished by tournament organizers at the time, a video clip of Nguyen’s conduct resurfaced later on ESPN television and subsequently on YouTube, triggering a storm of public criticism and complaints.
The criticism and complaints made it all the way back to the professional poker player, who issued a long and rather rambling apology. "Keep in mind this was a five day event, with an almost fourteen hour final table that was reduced to two hours of air time including all the commercial breaks. With that being said, as you can imagine, more took place than what made the final cut for t.v.," Nguyen wrote.
"Last year’s Main Event I made the mistake of letting someone get under my skin, of which overtook my mental focus of the game, and cost me my tournament along with a lot of disappointment amongst my fans and peers… Bottom line, I only ask for you to please understand and remember that I, Scotty Nguyen, the Prince of Poker is still a human being, just like all of you. I too have good times, bad times, sad times and angry times, just like everyone else in this world, and I hope you can understand that. I do promise to all the fans that no matter what, from now, I would never disappoint you again any which way. I forgot about the fans, and only focused on me. I am sorry."
Later in the week we will break down what actually happened and determine whether Scotty Nguyen’s alleged actions were part of an act to put his opponents on tilt or if he is joining the ranks of badly behaved poker pros and adding poker controversy to these prestigious tournaments.
