Canadian Wins Johnny Chan Poker Classic

Richmond, B.C., May 14, 2007 – After three days of tournament play, Henry Tran of Toronto beat out 499 players including celebrity poker pro Johnny Chan to take home the top prize of $325,000. Tran was competing in the No Limit Texas Hold’Em main event of British Columbia Lottery Corporation’s first Johnny Chan Poker Classic held at River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond this past week.

Tran, a computer chip designer and father of two, made it to the final table with one of the highest chip counts and eliminated his opponents with very calculated moves. This was his second

major tournament win. His first was an $800,000US prize in Atlantic City’s World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in 2005.

“I’ve been playing poker for only four years, and I love the game. I consider it a sport, and I want to continue supporting poker in Canada,” explained Tran. “This was my first tournament in British Columbia and I plan to come back.”

Almost 1,700 players competed in the week-long tournament, which featured five events for a total prize pool of $2,165,000, making this one of the largest poker tournaments held to date in British Columbia. The first place finishers from each event were:

Kalen Carslaw of Montreal, Quebec, won $71,500 in the No Limit Texas Hold’Em event on May 6.

Jeffrey Garza of Norfolk, Massachusetts, won $84,000 in the Short Handed No Limit Texas Hold’Em event on May 7.

David Tompkins of Vancouver, British Columbia, won $58,860 in the Pot Limit Hold’Em event on May 8.

Bob Jarrett of Winlaw, British Columbia, won $36,600 in the Pot Limit Omaha event on May 9.

Henry Tran of Toronto, Ontario, won $325,000, in the No Limit Texas Hold’Em main event on May 11-13.

“Johnny Chan has poker fans around the world, and we are really pleased to have launched the first ever Johnny Chan Poker Classic right here in British Columbia,” said Holly Spence, British Columbia Lottery Corporation’s Director of Casino Marketing. “Hundreds of people from all over North America came to Richmond this past week to compete with the world’s best poker players. This tournament was a win-win for the players and our province.”

Visit http://www.thepokerfather.com/PokerNews/2007/Johnny-Chan-Poker-Classic.html for the complete list of winners from each event.