Scotty Nguyen is the 2008 World Series of Poker $50K H.O.R.S.E. champion!

First things first…
3rd place – Erick Lindgren – $781,440 (This occurred at approximately 4:30am after a valiant fight with a pesky short stack. Fine job, Erick. Seriously.)
2nd place – Michael DeMichele – $1,243,200 (An amazing feat for a young, up-and-coming player.)

And first place goes to Scotty Nguyen…baby.

After a seemingly kind and understanding conversation with the runner-up, Scotty took in the win. He hugged some friends in the audience (like Layne Flack and David “Devilfish” Ulliott), then looked to his wife whom he embraced and lip-locked for quite some time. The emotion from both of them was obvious. He thanked the audience who was still there after 5am to take in the history. Scotty did an interview with ESPN and proceeded to the presentation platform where Jeffrey Pollack presented him with the Chip Reese trophy. Scotty was quite overcome with emotion and stood with his face in his hands for several moments before wiping the tears and accepting the trophy. He held it up and thanked Chip Reese with an eye to the sky, thanked his fans and friends, most importantly his wife, and was subsequently awarded the WSOP bracelet.

It was an emotional victory for the long-time pro, and the importance of the victory was not lost on Scotty Nguyen. The hard-fought battle took more than 12 hours but ended with a very grateful and deserving champion. Congratulations, Scotty!

Click below for some photos from the $50K H.O.R.S.E. victory…

More…

It has taken over three hours to see three players hit the door in the $50K HORSE. It has seemed slow at times, but the intensity at the table dictates that this could be a long night.

8th place – Patrick Bueno – $230,880
He was the short stack with less than 700K upon sitting down today, so it was only a matter of time before he would make a move. He did it against Lyle Berman and lost. The French businessman bid adieu to the table.

7th place – Huck Seed – $284,160
Huck never has much to say, and neither do I.

6th place – Barry Greenstein – $355,200
Though he’s not the kind of guy most people would want at a fun dinner party, Barry’s story at the WSOP, especially in this event, would have been a great one. He is the only player to have cashed in each of the three years that the $50K HORSE has been played, and this was his second year in a row for a final table in it. He already won a WSOP bracelet a few weeks ago in seven-card razz, but he couldn’t pull of the big one with his short stack. (That just sounded wrong, I know.) He did earn his sixth cash of the WSOP, though. Not a bad showing for the Bear this year so far.

After 75 hands, Michael DeMichele has taken the chip lead. Lookie here for the PokerNews chip counts:

Michael DeMichele – 3,700,000
Erick Lindgren – 3,400,000
Scotty Nguyen – 3,300,000
Lyle Berman – 2,200,000
Matt Glantz – 2,150,000