Johnny Chan – The Orient Express
Anyone who knows anything about poker will have heard of the name Johnny Chan. This man is probably the most well known poker player there has ever been; he really is one of the games true legends.
The Orient Express
Johnny Chan was born in Canton in China and lived there until the age of six when his family moved to America. He went to schools in both Phoenix and Houston where he learned to speak English and adapt to the American lifestyle.
As a teenager Chan worked in the family restaurant where he learned to play poker in his spare time. He was soon playing downstairs in the basement of the restaurant but the fact that he began to win continuously meant that the regulars wouldn’t play with him anymore. Chan now knew that he could play with the big boys.
One of Chan’s earliest achievements was taking $500 to Las Vegas at the age of 16 and coming away with $20,000 at the end of the night. However this money didn’t last long when he lost every penny the next night! While trying to make it big, Chan picked up a bad lifestyle of smoking and not eating right. It was only when he adopted a healthier lifestyle that his playing began to improve for the better.
In order to take away the smell of cigarettes at the poker tables, Chan would bring a ripe orange with him and this orange soon became his official trademark especially when people began to notice him for his talents. And it was these talents that were really noticed during the Bob Stupak’s America’s Cup Tournament. He quickly eliminated 13 of the 16 players in just over half an hour. And because of this he was soon given the nickname ‘Orient Express’.
He became known as a bully at the poker table but his aggressive play earned him the World Series of Poker Main Event titles in both 1987 and 1988. Along with that he also has 10 WSOP bracelets and has been an inspiration to Asian players everywhere. His win in 1988 and the story surrounding it, was actually immortalized in the 1998 movie Rounders which starred Matt Damon and Ed Norton.
