Early Life
Scotty Nguyen was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and came to the United States at the age of fourteen. He was expelled from school for spending too much time in underground poker games. Nguyen attended dealer school at the age of 21 and was employed at Harrah’s poker room. There he made about $150 a night and lost most of it playing $3–$6 stud. He described himself as a "fish" but wanted to gamble regardless.
His luck changed in 1985 when he was invited to Lake Tahoe to deal in a no-limit Hold’em tournament. He dealt all day and played cash games all night with the meager bankroll he brought with him. He built his bankroll to $7,000 and felt he was invincible. He returned to Las Vegas and gambled his bankroll up to $1,000,000. His name spread around Vegas and before he knew it he was playing poker with Johnny Chan, Puggy Pearson, and David Grey. He purchased a Chevrolet Camaro for $17,000, a Corvette for $21,000 and a condominium for $60,000 all in cash. He lived in Caesars Palace and was winning $50,000 to $100,000 a night.
Bad habits plagued Nguyen as recreational use of marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol developed into full-scale addictions. After a bad losing streak, he ended up going broke. Nguyen was spared a room and $5,000 in cash.
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