Johnny Chan (poker player)

Johnny Chan (<!--Note: This name in pinyin is "Chen Jiangni"; I find it very difficult to believe that he would have such a Chinese name; it's actually just a transliteration of "Johnny," and we still need his actual Chinese name-->), born in Guangzhou, China in 1957, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, is a professional poker player.

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.

Poker tournaments

World Series of Poker

Chan attributes some of his early success to the fact that many players had not previously played against Asian players. 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. He is the last player to win back-to-back WSOP Main Events, a feat many prognosticators think he could hold forever given the...
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