RE: Scotty Nguyen Apology
by Dan Michalski, Aug 24, 2008 | 4:21 pm
Whether or not it was reality-TV editing that turned the Prince of Poker into the Puck of Poker during the $50k HORSE event … here’s an edited down version of the edited down version that compiles Scotty Nguyen’s drunken antics into a 10-minute YouTube vid.
Scotty Nguyen Belligerent Drunk Montage
Amazing to think that 10 minutes of mouth-off is all it takes to taint the public perception of one’s entire life. But hey, I’m sure Bill Clinton has had similar thoughts. Unless of course there weren’t two different Scottys in play, in which case then it was just a matter of time before the camera eventually captured, er, reality?
ItsOverJonny says:
August 24th, 2008 at 6:05pm
Big deal. If it was Matusow no one would blink. Other than the soft-play against Lindgren, he’s just a drunk having fun. We’ve all played against That Guy and love to have him in the game, although occasionally you have to break up a fight or two.
Alicia says:
August 24th, 2008 at 6:19pm
Although I agree with Jonny about wanting That Guy at the table, the normal That Guy isn’t looking for endorsement deals so this makes it a big deal. Scotty crossed the line with the soft play from a poker standpoint, and crossed the line by being a sloppy, mean drunk from a public perception standpoint. When I met Scotty in Vegas, he was nice and very accommodating to the fans, but like most drunks… behavior can be erratic. So as I have had to do before (and I bet I’m not alone), Scotty’s going to have to live down that shit that he did when he was shitfaced-drunk and hope that it blows over as quickly as possible.
ItsOverJonny says:
August 24th, 2008 at 6:37pm
Scotty’s got the bracelet, the trophy, and the cash. Cry me a river about his potential chump-change endorsement deals. And since when were endorsements based upon “class”? Advertisers don’t run until you commit a crime. In fact, I’ll bet he picked up as many points with some potential advertisers as he lost with others – TV loves “color”, not class. With major players in the poker business loving to pimp the “bad boy” image, how bad did Scotty really hurt his cred, particularly with an exploding Asian market?
ItsOverJonny says:
August 24th, 2008 at 6:44pm
p.s. +1 on Alicia’s comments. Scotty doesn’t know me from Adam, but the few times I’ve played with him he’s been genuinely nice, accessible, and always willing engage you in conversation. A lot of pros are “obligatory nice”, but probably don’t really want to talk to you – they just do it because they don’t want to look like a prick. I think Scotty really just likes people. At least until he’s hammered and starts losing.
David says:
August 24th, 2008 at 7:27pm
looked to me E-Dog started the flow of the drinks and even tipped the waiter…maybe the plan backfired??
Alicia says:
August 24th, 2008 at 8:14pm
America likes for you to stay in the category that they’ve already placed you in. Scotty was in the “good guy” camp and then acted like a “bad guy”. You are right… if Matasow or Hellmuth had done something like that then no one would be talking much about it. But he switched teams and the simpletons then feel betrayed.
and p.s… i never said endorsement deals were based on class
ItsOverJonny says:
August 24th, 2008 at 8:47pm
I guess I’m just douchey, but I just watched it for the third time and I still laughed when he slurs out “Iz no fun when Scotty gotta gun!” Some of the shit he says is completely unintelligible.
Just goes to show that there’s no skill in poker.
Alicia says:
August 24th, 2008 at 9:28pm
LOL… i love you sub
DanM says:
August 24th, 2008 at 10:01pm
ya know, everyone likes to talk about proper behavior — boo Hevad Khan, for example — but in reality, how boring would poker be if everyone did behave the same way?
having to play against the drunken dipshit is definitely a skill that all players work on over the years.
Jason B says:
August 24th, 2008 at 11:48pm
I think its ashame that Scotty has to apologize to anybody. In the famous words of “Big” Ern McCracken when he beat Roy Munson in the winner take all bowling championship, “I’m a winner! I’m above the law!” I don’t want to watch a bowling tournament with a guy who lost his hand in a bowling alley conveyor belt cause he got caught has a hustler, then make it into a feel good story by reuniting the man who put him in the tragic situation the night he pretended to be a encyclopedia salesman with a gambling addiction mono e mono, all the while travelling with a former victoria secret model and a amish goofball. COME ON, I NEED THE DRAMA!!!
ItsOverJonny says:
August 24th, 2008 at 11:54pm
whaaaaaaa?
zach says:
August 25th, 2008 at 2:15am
men the master is the prick, I know first hand that Scotty is a cool guy. Dealt to both of them this summer a couple times
Alicia says:
August 25th, 2008 at 4:31am
JasonB… were you trying to show us what a drunken rant sounds like in transcript form? If not, then I’m confused….
Frank Frisina says:
August 25th, 2008 at 7:52am
Bad boy is one thing… being an asshole is something totally different.
and I disagree… had Hellmuth or Matusow acted this way… there would STILL be backlash… maybe even worse.
There is a line.. and Scotty crossed it.
Karridy says:
August 25th, 2008 at 8:14am
Hadn’t watched. Had no idea. What a cock.
Marvin C says:
August 25th, 2008 at 8:33am
My question is, “Where was the tounament director?” In past events, penalties resulted from the first use of the “F” word.
Scotty got out of hand. However, I don’t see it as a habitual behavior. Phil and Mike do it habitually, and it’s getting old. It would be better TV if Scotty acted that way all the time than Mike. Scotty wins, Mike doesn’t.
Worse than the drunken behavior was the dumping. This was blanant cheating. Why do you think the rule was put in to show the cards on all-in hands? In our local games, people get barred for dumping. This was as obvious as Annie trying to dump to her brother in the winner-take-all tournament and out drawing him.
Steve S says:
August 25th, 2008 at 2:56pm
In football, it is always the player that retaliates, that gets the flag. It looks the same here; DeMichele started the table tilt with standing up after every hand he won!!! High five’s to all his buds, and celebrating. It’s a $50,000 buy in, come on now, everyone here would go a little off center if that happen after every hand you lost. E-dog started the poker-etiquette class, Scotty just got caught up in it, and then, it got out of hand.
Poker Shrink says:
August 25th, 2008 at 5:11pm
FYI, neither Hellmuth nor Matusow drink at the poker table.
Although all three of them have been made to look worse than they were by ESPN editing on several occasions.
DanM says:
August 25th, 2008 at 5:47pm
Ya know, no one’s considering that maybe Scotty Nguyen was being selfless — by showing the world that you can win at poker when totally smashed!
I gotta think encouraging weaker players to play drunk has got to be “good for poker.”
Harris says:
August 26th, 2008 at 9:05am
Doesn’t Scotty being drunk hurt the poker as a skill game argument? Couldn’t a congressman say, “If a hammered drunk can win the biggest buy-in most prestegious event against a young calculating mathmatical whiz kid, not to mention the list of top professionals, how can it possibly be a skill game?”
I agree that maybe some players will begin to think it’s okay to drink and play and that can be good for our wallets but for the poker industry as a whole I think it’s a very bad thing.
On another side note, my grandfather who loves to watch poker but never plays told me yesterday that he lost all respect for Scotty after watching that episode. I think ESPN may have shot themselves and Scotty in the foot. Scotty used to be good for TV, people loved to watch him but after seeing this people may have lost respect for him. Viewers like my grandfather may not want to watch him or poker anymore. This may be the convincing argument for many that poker players are still just degenerate gamblers and drunks.
Frank Frisina says:
August 26th, 2008 at 6:58pm
Listened to Erick Lindgren on Poker Road radio yesterday and he says ESPN got it pretty right. Scotty dropped at least 50 MFers and called several names. The ESPN guys couldn’t make it look better even if they tried.
What is the rule about punching someone in the face?
California Jen says:
August 26th, 2008 at 9:23pm
As Frank said, Erick said the ESPN coverage was accurate of the tone of the table. However, he also said that although he was angry that night, he holds nothing against Scotty for it. He knows that everyone makes mistakes and hopes that Scotty will learn from the mistake and not do that again.
Erick = stand-up guy all the way.