Scotty Nguyen is one of the few living poker players who have a tournament named after him.

And it is set to start its fifth season at the Cherokee Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from the 30th of October. It will run till the 10th of November.

The popularity of the tournament can be gauged from the way the prize pool is increasing. Season III had a prize pool of $1.7 million, Season IV had a prize pool of $2 million and this year it has gone up to over $2.5 million. Past winners of the tournament include Kido Pham, Nam Le and T.J.Cloutier.
 
The Cherokee Casino is operated by the Cherokee Nation Enterprises. It has regularly been voted as the best casino in Oklahoma. Chief Executive Officer, David Stewart, said that local players and professionals from across the country look forward to the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge. The tournament has been shifted from the poker room to the grand ballroom this year to allow more live cash games while the tournament is on. After all there has to be something for the players who have been knocked out to do. Also the schedule has been more packed by shortening the duration of the tournament but adding more events. Therefore more players are expected to participate this year. In all there will be 31 events, including the mandatory H.O.R.S.E. Main Event and Ladies Event. The buy-ins are fairly low, varying from $125 to $500 for most events. There is one No Limit Hold’Em that has a buy-in of $1,000 and the Main Event has a buy-in of $3,000. 

Nguyen’s relationship with the Cherokee Casino started when he agreed to be their brand ambassador after winning the 1998 WSOP Main Event. As a part of the agreement Nguyen sports the Cherokee Casino logo at all his final table appearances and also promotes the poker room in other ways. He has to play there for at least 12 weeks a year and be accessible to local poker players and residents. On his part Nguyen loves the role of brand ambassador. He has had a trophy case set up at the casino where he keeps his trophies. He is also aware of the larger responsibility that being a brand ambassador entails. In an interview given to the publication Bodog Nation he said. “I’m like a model for young kids these days. They want to look up to some pro with class. They don’t want to see someone with millions of dollars and talking like nobody. I don’t do those things, you know what I mean?” However there is a difference between saying and acting. The worst behavior of Nguyen was on display during the H.O.R.S.E. event at this year’s WSOP. Whatever the effect of such behavior may be, there is no doubt that Nguyen’s presence draws the crowds at the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge tournaments at Cherokee Casino.

It is not for nothing that Nguyen is called the “The Prince of Poker”. He came to the United States from Vietnam at the young age of 14 and lived the American Dream. The winner of 5 WSOP bracelets in a variety of events he is regarded as the best tournament player. Nguyen’s total tournament career earnings are almost $10 millions.