Johnny Chan

Johnny 'Oriental Express' Chan was born in Guangzhou, China in 1957. He received a lot of credit since 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 pokermovie 'Rounders', in which Johnny Chan is playing heads up against Erik Seidel. He almost won a third consecutive title, but finished in 2nd place in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth. 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, bothered him. Chan was once a smoker, but now he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol. It was after he gave up those vices and living a healthier lifestyle that his poker play also improved. In 2005, Chan won his tenth World Series of Poker title, defeating Phil Laak in a Texas hold 'em event.

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