How much of a shame was the $50k horse final table?

Question

i watched the event on espn and am just wondering now how much of a travesty this was...this should have been a tournament in chip reese's honor with all of the things he stood for on display, including great poker, class, and just an overall generosity...instead we got a fantastic exposition on drinking at the table and how to verbally abuse your opponents

first of all, i am a very big fan of scotty nguyen, i have been since i first starting watching poker, and what i saw tonight will not change that...however, scotty's alcohol-induced obnoxious behavior definitely made me lose respect for him, i don't know any self-respecting player who would find a way to get drunk playing for the most prestigious title in poker...i started to feel sympathy towards michael dimichele and erick lindgren during the final table for having to put up with scotty's wasted rants, especially for erick because he is such a class act...and while dimichele's celebrations early at the final table were distasteful and no one really appreciated it, it doesn't come close to some of the lines that scotty crossed

and finally, i think espn handled coverage of the event itself very well...they were obviously put in a very difficult position as they couldn't remove the event from the tv schedule and couldn't edit out scotty's inebriated displays...i thought that norman chad did a very good job handling the situation with his commentary, perhaps going a little soft on scotty at times but he never shied away from pointing out scotty's transgressions...norman may not be able to comment on poker all that well but he handled both this situation and his commentary on the whole justin bonomo cheating scandal very well imo

any thoughts on this?

Answer 1

  I know.. That's a lot of doe! Drinking is allowed.. Min the master spewed brew all over the table couple years ago at a final table. Kind of show's ya why gambling joints give ya free booze while playing.

  Never have been a big fan of scotty.. Probably fought some of his relatives in nam.

Answer 2

i have never seen Scotty act like that before or for that fack Eric... i missed the first half hour but from what i understand the kid was acting like a fool also and made the both of them upset.. but i bet i was overdone by the producers to create some sort of drama

and yes it was a disgrace Chip was a class act and it could of been showed a different way also.

and yes the drinking should be showed a lot less when they are on tv.

Scotty is now where near like that in person...away from the table that is

Answer 3

That's what happens when Scotty has too much booze baby. He turns into a total jackass baby.

I admire his skill and his accomplishments in poker but he made a total *** out of himself.  

Answer 4

Honestly, I haven't seen it.  But from what you say Scotty got drunk and was a bit crazy.  Well, it doesn't take away from the fact he is a world class player, who likes to drink.

It is sad that Chip Reese died, but if Scotty wants to put up $50K, and get drunk on the final table, that's up to him.  It's one of the cool things about poker; the fact that anyone can put up the money and play at a world class level.  I could put up $50K next year and find myself sitting between Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey.  Yet if golf was my game, no reasonable amount of money would get me competing against Tiger Woods.  It's a double edged sword.

I'll have to see the DVR to tell you what I think about it.  But frankly I am amazed that a guy who likes to drink as much as Scotty ends up on so many final tables.  In many ways that fact alone is worthy of respect.

EDIT: I just got finished watching the HORSE event you are talking about.

In a way I've always liked Scotty.  He is normally fun and jovial, even when drinking.  But he really was in a strange place for this tournament.  Berating the young 23 year old player for poor etiquette, and then putting on a display of some of the worst poker etiquette I've ever seen.

He took on the role of a mean drunk that night, taking offense at almost any comment, laughing one minute, being rude and disrespectful the next.

I'm left not sure what to think.  I'm not sure why a normally happy player would go into such a dark place during what should have been his proudest career moment.

So I guess having seen it I have to agree with you.  I lost a lot of respect for Scotty having watched what happened.  I'm guessing too that many of his fellow poker pros will be less than impressed, especially since his name is now forever on the Chip Reese trophy.

Pretty sad.

UPDATE: I just saw this interview on YouTube after he won.  Quite amusing.

Answer 5

it sad  sad day for poker  

Answer 6

Don't worry sabes after you vote for Obama the world will be a nicer place. :-(

The tournament was in honor of Chip not to be played the way he did.

Have you ever see Scotty drink and swear at the table before? It happens all the time.

These players are there to win the tournament not make friends.

Would I act that way? Probably not but if I plunked down my 50K I can act any way I want to within the rules.

I think maybe you should start watching Oprah instead of poker.

And if Norman Chad had to do a live commentary you would have heard something different.

Answer 7

Scotty was absolutely terrible. It was embarrassing.

Answer 8

I don't understand.  I thought there was a 10 minute penalty for swearing.  They just let them go at it which was dumb in the first place.  Scotty Nguyen lost alot of fans, and alot of respect from his peers that's for sure.

Answer 9

To paraphrase what Norman Chad said about this travesty, it was as if a layer had been peeled off Scotty Nguyen and we were now seeing the real person underneath, and as Norman said, "It is not pretty."

I have been a fan of Scotty Nguyen but not anymore. For some time now he has been morphing into this mean, cranky old woman, given to profanity-laced tirades, often alcohol-fueled.  

As another person has commented on this site, the profanity is a violation of the casino rules and should result in Scotty's having to leave the table for a period.  This penalty has been enforced against Mike Matusow and others.  Why is Scotty Nguyen allowed to get away with it, when he has become perhaps the most foul-mouthed player around?

Nguyen's bizarre attacks that night against not only Michael DiMichele but the classy Erick Lindgren were totally unwarranted.  As Norman Chad said, Scotty Nguyen appeared to have left his class in a beer bottle.  What a louse!