Background and career
Johnny Chan (Chinese: 陳金海; (born 1957) is an American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively.
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 started playing cards with the staff of the restaurant. 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. However, his first live casino experience was before his 21st birthday. During a visit in Las Vegas at the age of 16, Chan managed to buy in for a cash game, allegedly turning $500 into $20,000 in one night, before losing the whole $20,000 the next day.
Chan won his first WSOP bracelet in 1985 in a Limit Hold'em event. Chan won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1987 and 1988 becoming the first foreign national to win the main event. A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads-up match is featured in the 1998 movie Rounders, in which Chan makes a cameo appearance. He almost won a third consecutive title, but finished as the runner-up in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth. He is the last player to win back-to-back WSOP Main Events. Chan added bracelets with victories at the WSOP in 1994, 1997, 2000, and 2002. In 2003, Chan won his eighth and ninth bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold'em events, both with a $5,000 buy-in. In 2005, Chan became the first player to win ten World Series of Poker bracelets, defeating Phil Laak in a $2,500 Pot Limit Texas hold 'em event. At the time, he broke a tie with Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Hellmuth. Brunson later tied him as the same WSOP. He is currently tied with Doyle Brunson and Erik Seidel for third place with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, behind Phil Ivey (11) and Phil Hellmuth (17). He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2008, Chan cashed for the first time in the Main Event since 1992, earning $32,166 for his 329th-place finish. In 2010, Chan cashed in the Main Event taking 156th place for $57,102.
Chan competed in the $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in February 2005. He came back from 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 players to make it to the finals. 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.
On NBC's late-night show Poker After Dark, a six-person $20,000 buy-in winner-takes-all tournament, Johnny Chan has the most victories to date with four wins in six appearances. He came in second and fifth when he did not win. His appearances in which he made it to heads-up were:
WSOP Champions — originally aired January 15–20, 2007 — Won heads-up against Chris Moneymaker Champions Week — originally aired June 11–16, 2007 — Lost heads-up against Joe Hachem World Champions — originally aired February 11–16, 2008 — Won heads-up against Phil Hellmuth International — originally aired February 25 – March 1, 2008 — Won heads-up against Patrik Antonius Dream Table III — originally aired March 23–27, 2009 — Won heads-up against Jennifer Tilly
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
