The Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino was buzzing over the weekend with the news that Scotty Nguyen had won the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker. The HORSE championship, which requires knowledge of Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or Better, attracts some of the most well-rounded poker players on the circuit today. In fact, the final table included Nguyen, Erick Lindgren, Barry Greenstein, Lyle Berman, and Huck Seed. Together, they represent some of the highest stakes tournament players you’ll find.
Nguyen cashed for $1,989,120 for his first place finish. He is the owner of five World Series of Poker bracelets, the first of which came during the 1997 WSOP. In 1998, he became the Main Event Champion, cashing for a million dollars. In the 2001 WSOP, he ratcheted another bracelet in a $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament and also grabbed one in a Limit Omaha Hi/Low event. As you can see, Nguyen has been consistently successful in a variety of poker games, which is the recipe for success in an event that rotates its game every half hour. The David “Chip” Reese trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the $50K HORSE Tournament. Reese was the inaugural winner of this tournament in the 2006 WSOP. Nguyen commented after the tournament, “When I was first coming into poker, I wanted to be playing with Doyle (Brunson), Chip (Reese), and Stuey (Ungar). Now, two of them are gone. I wanted to win this trophy to be the first winner to honor Chip.”
Lindgren won his first WSOP bracelet during Event 4 of the 2008 WSOP. The Full Tilt Poker pro has cashed five times this year. He was the World Poker Tour Player of the Year during Season II and won two events during that year (the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic and the PartyPoker Million). Lindgren made his first WSOP final table during his first WSOP cash in 2003.
Also at the final table were three-time WSOP bracelet winner Lyle Berman, who has made two final tables so far at this year’s World Series of Poker. PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein finished sixth in the $50,000 HORSE event. He won his first bracelet during the 2004 WSOP in No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw. Finally, Huck Seed finished seventh. Seed was the Main Event Champion in 1996 and owns four WSOP bracelets. Lifetime, he’s cashed for nearly $2.5 million from WSOP play.
A press release by Harrah’s comments on the Chip Reese trophy: “It weighs 60 pounds. The marble base is inscribed with the names of past winners. The plaque reads David ‘Chip’ Reese Memorial Trophy – Standing the Test of Time. The phrase was famously uttered by Reese following his victory during the first year. The trophy is crowned with the gold-embossed winning hand from the inaugural event. Perhaps most unusual is the fact that the trophy was slightly damaged while in transit between the manufacturer and the Rio. Fittingly, the trophy has a small ‘chip’ in the base, which Jeffrey Pollack described as ‘Reese’s ghost leaving his mark.’”