Poker Legend Johnny Chan

Johnny "Orient Express" Chan is one of the only living poker players to have won the main title of the World Series of Poker twice, and one of three to have been awarded ten gold bracelets from the same tournament.

Johnny Chan is one of the legendary Poker players that have emerged and become famous thanks to the phenomenon of televised broadcasts of poker tournaments in the last couple of decades. Johnny Chan currently holds a few records in his own right – he is the only American Asian to have won the title at the World Series of Poker, he is the only living player to have won the title twice and he is one of the highest holders of gold bracelets that are awarded to winners in sections of the WSOP.

Johnny Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1962 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona as a young child. His family later relocated to Houston, Texas and became restaurant owners. Chan had a normal upbringing and started college like most youngsters his age. However, at a certain point during his studies of hotel and restaurant management, Chan decided that he was not cut out to be a student, dropped out of college and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler.

Chan claims that part of his instant success is the fact that Americans were not used to playing against opponents of Asian descent. Chan's name became instantly famous when he won the WSOP title in two consecutive years in 1987 and 1988. Chan began playing in the WSOP in 1985 and has managed to walk away with a record ten titles, the latest being in 2005.

Chan has managed to make a 'respectable' living out of his winning from poker tournaments. These include the $625,000 from the 1987 championship, $700,000 from the 1988 championship, $224,000 from the 2003 No Limit Hold'em and $303,000 from the 2005 Pot Limit Hold'em. He has also managed to become a Hollywood star by playing a cameo role in a move called "Rounders" which refers to him as the best poker player in the world. The movie contains actual footage of his second WSOP win in 1988 – using the game footage of Chan's startling defeat of Erik Seidel. 

Chan may be considered by many to be past his prime, but the legendary player is still managing to take a few titles. His total winnings from poker tournaments, as of 2006, were $5,200,000. Chan has written a couple of books about poker methodology and contributes to a few poker-focused magazines. Considering the fact that most people only dream of pursing their favorite pastime of poker as a profession, Chan's realisation and success of this dream need to be commended.

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