Johnny Chan (poker player)

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**Johnny Chan**
Johnny Chan in the 1998 movie Rounders
Nickname(s)	Orient(al) Express
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	10
Money finishes	33
Highest ITM main event finish	Winner (1987, 1988)
World Poker Tour
Titles	None
Final tables	None
Money Finishes	3

Johnny "Orient(al) Express" Chan (born in Guangzhou (Canton), China in 1957) is a professional poker player.

1 Early life
2 Poker tournaments
3 Personal life
4 External links

[edit] Early life

Chan moved with his family in 1962 from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, then in 1968 to Phoenix, Arizona and later in 1973 to Houston, Texas where his family owned restaurants. He was going to continue in the family business, but when he was 16 he went on a junket to Las Vegas, Nevada. When he was 21, Chan dropped out of the University of Houston, where he was majoring in hotel and restaurant management, and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler.

[edit] Poker tournaments

[edit] World Series of Poker

Chan attributes some of his early success to the fact that many players had not previously played against Asian players before. He shot to fame in the late 1980s, winning the championship event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in two consecutive years (1987 and 1988). A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads up match is featured in the movie Rounders, in which Johnny Chan makes a cameo appearance. He almost won a third consecutive title, but finished in 2nd place in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth. Jerry Buss, an avid poker player and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, promised Chan an NBA championship ring if he could win three in a row.

Chan is known for keeping a "lucky" orange in front of him on the table, and after the second consecutive WSOP title other players began bringing fruit to the table in hopes of increasing their luck. Chan says he only had an orange with him because of the pleasant scent, as smoking, which was allowed in many tournaments then, bothers him. Chan was once a smoker, but now he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol.

In 2005, Chan won his tenth World Series of Poker title, defeating Phil Laak in a Texas hold 'em event. He is now tied with Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth for the record of 10 World Series of Poker bracelets. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002.

[edit] World Series of Poker Bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize (US$)
1985	$1,000 Limit Hold'em	$171,000
1987	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship	$625,000
1988	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship	$700,000
1994	$1,500 Seven Card Stud	$135,600
1997	$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw	$164,250
2000	$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha	$178,800
2002	$2,500 No Limit Hold'em Gold Bracelet Match Play	$34,000
2003	$5,000 No Limit Hold'em	$224,400
2003	$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha	$158,100
2005	$2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em	$303,025

Through 2006, Chan has won $3,744,331 at the World Series of Poker.

[edit] Poker Superstars

Chan competed in the $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in February 2005. He came back from only having $20,000 chips out of $3,200,000 in play to finish in second place to Gus Hansen. Chan later competed in Poker Superstars II during the summer of 2005. He defeated 22 of the best players to make it to the finals. Then he defeated Todd Brunson in the finals after three matches to win the $400,000 first prize. Chan appeared in Poker Superstars III where he made it as far as the semi finals but was defeated by Todd Brunson after three matches.

[edit] Other tournaments

Chan has yet to make a final table on the World Poker Tour (WPT), despite playing in numerous events.

Chan also featured in the 2004 and 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions events and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in the same years.

As of 2006, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,700,000.

[edit] Personal life

In addition to playing poker, Chan owns a fast-food franchise in the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel and is a consultant for various casinos and game makers. He has aspirations of opening his own casino. Chan has also written for Card Player magazine. He is currently appearing in the GSN series High Stakes Poker.

Chan has six children. He relaxes by swimming, playing pool, and tenpin bowling.

In 2005, Chan collaborated with Mark Karowe to release Play Poker Like Johnny Chan (ISBN 1-933074-48-5), an instructional book on several different types of poker. On July 11, 2006, they will release the follow-up titled: Million Dollar Hold'em: Winning Big in Limit Cash Games (ISBN 1-58042-200-4), which focuses on limit hold'em strategy.