Scotty Nguyen Finishes 11th at 2007 WSOP

In 1998, Scotty Nguyen immortalized himself with a prophetic phrase that would secure him a place in the annals of poker legend forever: "You call this one, and it's all over, baby!"

Kevin McBride was the player faced with making that tough decision, and in the end he called... and it was all over, baby. Scotty Nguyen became the 1998 World Series of Poker champion.

Today, more than nine years later, Scotty found himself to be one of the final eleven players remaining in the 2007 World Series of Poker's $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship, and the only world champion left in play.

Scotty looked to be in top form for most of the day, moving from second to last in chips, to at one point being just two behind the chip leader. But, three key hands saw to it that Scotty's dream of joining the exclusive two-time main event winner's club would not be realized.

After nearly doubling up, taking out Ray Henson in the process, Scotty's stack was massive, hovering for a short while around the 15 Million mark. Then came a hand against Tuan Lam, in which Scotty put a huge 2.5 Million bet into the pot... on a stone cold bluff. On a board showing two kings, Scotty held a four in his hole cards to match the one that fell on the flop, but nothing more. After his 2.5 Million river bet, Tuan went into the tank. Finally, after at least a full minute, Tuan made the call and showed pocket tens. The tens were good, and Scotty took a hit.

Next came a hand against Phil Hilm. On a board of Q 5 6 K, Phil put out a sizable bet and Scotty instantly moved all-in for more than 10 Million. Phil made the call just as fast, and turned over 5-5 for a flopped set. Scotty held A-Q for a pair of queens, and there was nothing that could come to save him on the river. His hand was dead, and after the cards were all mucked and Phil was shipped the pot, Scotty's stack was crippled to around 2 Million.

Finally came Scotty's all-in bet with 9 10, on a flop of 3 K 7. It was Phil that Scotty was up against yet again, as Phil called holding the K Q. Scotty would need to catch two running cards or any club to take this one down. Spectators stood instantly to their feet, caught up in the intensity of a situation that easily could spell the end of Scotty Nguyen's run at the 2007 WSOP. The 2 hit the turn. Still one card... The river showed the Q, and that was it. Scotty Nguyen finished in 11th place, earning just shy of $500,000.

"Ladies and gentlemen," came the voice from the speakers. "Your 11th place finisher, Scotty Nguyen."

The audience stood to their feet and Scotty was ushered out of the room by tournament staff to a roaring applause.

He returned just a few minutes later to take the microphone and offer thanks to his fans, and a good luck to the remaining players.

"First off, congratulations to all these players, here," Scotty said after being greeted by round of applause. "I wish the best 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."

Scotty Nguyen is not one to mince words. He knows he made some mistakes, and knows exactly what led to the plays that would prove to be his downfall at this WSOP main event.

"Yeah, I made mistakes," said Scotty. "And this is the one tournament of the year where you don't want to do that. I wasn't myself. It wasn't Scotty Nguyen out there, it was somebody else. I'm not like some players. I don't get mad, I don't let the game get personal. But this time I did. It got personal, and that was a big mistake.

"To come this close," Scotty continued. "Is disappointing. I wanted so bad to do that, to get there again. But it will have to wait 'til next year."

While he fell short of his goal of joining the ranks of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, and Johnny Chan, and become a two-time WSOP main event winner, Scotty Nguyen's performance in this year's tournament proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is one of the best players this game has ever seen. To slice through a field of more than 6,000 players, and come within a gasp of not only making the final table, but winning it all, is nothing short of phenomenal.

EDITOR'S NOTE: While it pains me to have to issue one, please consider this a retraction. I had previously reported that Phil Hellmuth was a two-time main event winner. While I'm sure that the man is more than capable of doing so, he has NOT, indeed, won the main event more than once. I chalk that one up to being at the tail end of a 16 hour day. So, consider this my palm against my forehead over such a silly error. Cheers.

More Interviews

Justin West is Assistant Editor and a lead author for PokerPages.com. Having played poker since the age of 17, Justin spent more than a year earning a living on the green felt; a modest living, to be sure, but a living nonetheless. His aim was at one point to win the WSOP main event, thus causing Hell to freeze over. However, given his penchant for sin and his extreme dislike of cold weather, Justin has put that dream to rest.

WSOP Information Page