| Second Legends for Scotty
Scotty Nguyen, the colorful, charming and charismatic 1998 World Series champ, took down his second Legends tournament this year by winning event #21, $300 limit hold’em. First place paid an official $38,475, because the event generated a prize pool more than twice as large as the $50,000 guarantee. Unofficially, there was an even-money three-way chop at the end.
Limits at the final table started with $1,000-$2,000 blinds, playing for $2,000-$4,000. Immediately after action started, Thang Cong Nguyen was out of action. Arriving with only 5k, he went all in with pocket jacks against Warren Karp, who had A-K and flopped a king. Not long after, Karp claimed his second victim. Ming Huang had even fewer chips, only 4k, and couldn’t make anything..
About 20 minutes later, Scotty Warbucks, aka Charlie Shoten (or is it Charlie Shoten aka Scotty Warbucks?) started with Kc-8c against Men “The Master” Nguyen’s 10-8 offsuit. The flop was J-9-3 with one club. A queen of clubs on the turn gave Nguyen a straight and Warbucks a flush draw which never came, leaving him in eighth place.
Kathy Liebert arrived at the final table with 40k, only $6,000 behind chip leader Chris Karugulleyan. But she couldn’t seem do much, and at $2,000-$4,000 limits, her stacks dwindled quickly. Finally, right after limits went to 3-6, she found herself all in, in the big blind, with a mere 6-5. Wing Wong, in the small blind, had A-3. Neither player hit anything, and Wong’s ace-high left Liebert in eighth place.
A few hands later, Karp flopped a set of jacks against Karagulleyan. With the board showing J-2-7-10-A, Karp checked, but Karagulleyan, who had bet the turn, didn’t bite and saved a few chips.
Three hands later, Men “The Master” Nguyen, winner of event #20, was all in for 5k against Karagulleyan, but easily survived with pocket queens. But two hands later, he went up against Chris again, this time with K-Q. Under the gun, Men raised, Chris re-raised and Men capped it. With a board of 10-9-2-9-J, Chris bet and Men called, with only one chip left. Men rivered his straight, but he had been drawing dead because Chris had made quad nines on the turn.
On the next hand, The Master posted his single $1,000 chip in the big blind. There was four-way action and the pot was checked down. Though Lee had only K-10, it was the best hand, and Men tossed in his cards without showing them, cashing out sixth.
Three hands later, a pot between Karagulleyan and Anthony Lee was three-bet before the flop. With a board of 6-3-2-10-10, Lee bet, Karagulleyan called, lost to Lee’s pocket jacks and was now down to two chips. Chris had to post that in the big blind holding just 3-2 of diamonds. Karp, in the small blind, had A-J, flopped an ace, and now the tournament was down to the final four.
Scotty picked up chips from Karp by betting blind on fourth street after flopping kings and eights, but then lost them back to Lee on the next hand when he tried a bluff on the river with a board of K-K-5-9-7 and Lee picked him off with just ace-high. Lee then took the lead with over 100k when he held K-6 in a hand against Scotty and Wong, won with a flopped six and broke an all-in Wong. .
The three finalists then agreed to lock up $20,000 each and play for the rest. On the next hand, however, after blinds went to 2-4k with 4-8k limits, Scotty took down a pot against Lee with pocket aces and took over the lead. He then generously agreed to an even three-way chop, and event number 21 was over. _Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Scotty Nguyen had to psyche himself in order to win this event. By the third level he was down to $400. He then realized that for the last couple of days he had been “messing around.” But instead of panicking, he said, he talked to himself, and determined he would once again prove to people that “Scotty knows how to win.” He bore down, regained control, and from that point on moved steadily upward. “When I got to the final table, as I’ve said before, everybody knows it’s all over.”
Earlier in Legends 2003, Scotty won event number six, 7-card stud hi-lo. In the current issue of Card Player magazine, he has now jumped to fifth place in the overall standings, and this win might move him even higher. He said he agreed to an even money chop even though he held the chip lead because the money is less important to him than respect from other players.
|
