Born in Vietnam in 1962, Nguyen was encouraged by his family to emigrate to the USA in pursuit of a better life. A journey at sea of over 22 long, arduous days followed, where food was running scarce and plans were even hatched to eat Nguyens younger brother as desperation set in among his fellow passengers. Once in America, Scotty had a difficult time adjusting to a new culture, and reacted by developing a disruptive behavior. It was during this time that he began playing poker instead of going to his high school classes
Thuan adopted the name “Scotty” at the suggestion of an employer, who had thought Thuan was too difficult to pronounce. Scotty eventually took a job in a casino as a poker dealer, where learned invaluable lessons that improved his poker abilities. Scotty went on to win the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event when during the final hand, with a board of 9-9-8-8-8, he exclaimed to his opponent, Kevin McBride, “You call, it’s gonna be all over, baby!” McBride made the call, playing the full-house on the board, but Scotty held a nine for a better full-house and took down the $1 million grand prize.
Scotty, who is nicknamed the “Prince of Poker,” currently resides in Henderson, Nevada with his family and pet spider monkeys. He has had appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and in the 1999 film, Big Blind. Scotty, who has over $7 million in tournament winnings, continues to impress. During the 2007 W.S.O.P., he cashed six times and came close to a second world championship when he finished 11th in the Main Event (for $476,926).
