Tuesday February 5, 2013
Malaysian Mervin Chan wins Aussie poker challenge
By NICHOLAS CHENG
nicholascheng@thestar.com.my
Instant millionaire: Chan showing off his winning hand, trophy and cash prize. PETALING JAYA: Despite mountainous odds, Malaysian poker ace Mervin Chan toppled the world's best card players to sweep up RM5,172,624 (A$1.6mil) in cash.
Chan, 29, won the final round of the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event against seven other high-stakes professional players after a gruelling eight-day competition.
In addition to his cash prize, Chan also took home a brand new Chrysler 300C car worth RM129,000.
“I'm speechless! I'm feeling really great to have all this cash. I'm just feeling really, really, really great,” said Chan in a video interview shortly after his big finale win against 2011 Melbourne Poker champion Joe Cabret.
Known as “The Cat”, Chan stuck out from his group of highly successful entrepreneur friends for his wildly unorthodox career choice of being a high-stakes poker player.
And what a victory it was.
A David among the Goliaths and with fewer chips than some of his contenders, Chan endured through the card-flying gauntlet as the bigger players crashed out one by one.
His opponents included former Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge 2010 champion Dan Shak, two-time World Series Poker finalist Patrik Antonius, 2010 Victorian Poker A$500 No Limit Hold'em champion Joseph Cabret, Jarrod Glennon, Jay Tan and David Yan.
The final was down to Cabret and Chan with the chip count around even at the beginning of heads-up play their face-off lasted 10 minutes.
Cabret started off by leading for 1.2 million, Chan quickly responded by raising it up to 3 million and Cabret played back with an all in.
Chan snap-called and tabled an 8-6 of Spades combo which put him ahead of Cabret's A-3 of Diamonds flush draw.
“I was down to maybe a million and I got pretty lucky because I climbed two spots while the rest got eliminated. I doubled up a few times ... and I was in the game again,” said the poker ace as he triumphantly displayed his trophy and winnings.
- Robber shot dead after attacking out-of-uniform cop with meat cleaver
- PKR preparing five-year GE14 'war' plan, says Azmin
- Tian, Tamrin and Haris released after remand denied (updated)
- Sea lanes, barter trading to be reviewed, says Esscom D-G
- Najib and Palanivel to discuss deaths in police custody
- Single-party Barisan Nasional is feasible, says Muhyiddin
- Rafizi: PKR filing election petition for Balik Pulau parliamentary seat
- Karpal calls for state-level Senate elections
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Set aside differences, Malaysians told
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
- Google, like Facebook, in talks to buy Waze for about US$1bil
- Crown selling entire 10% in rival Echo, partly owned by Genting(Update)
- First edition of 'Great Gatsby' to be sold at auction, can fetch US$150,000
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Markets face rough summer ride as Fed pullback feared
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Commodities trader sues BP, Shell others for alleged oil price fixing
- Billionaire Icahn seeks up to US$7bil for Dell bid
- Google faces new federal antitrust probe
- Goldman Sachs unveils checks on conflicts in bid to fix tarnished image
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Maybank bullish on growth, to expand regionally under new leadership
- Khazanah appoints Nor Mohamed deputy chairman
- Lafarge Malayan Cement to finalise next expansion plans by August
- London's Heathrow airport closed after emergency landing
- Far East quake felt in Moscow, tsunami warning lifted
- Police make new arrests in London soldier killing
- Britain's press demands jailing of Islamist preacher
- Tsunami warning in Russia's Far East after 8.2 quake
- US bridge collapse sends cars, people into river
- Strong quake strikes off Tonga
- Jury fails to decide on US murderer death sentence
- One killed in Brazil giant fuel depot blaze
- Kingston leads, McIlroy in Wentworth woe
- LPGA plans 12-hole rounds in water-logged Bahamas
- Ryan Palmer sizzles with 62 to seize lead at Colonial
- Kelly overcomes scare to clinch title in KLGCC
- Time to make amends Garcia wants to meet Woods to defuse racist row
- American Johnson back to defend Colonial crown
- Rain dampens debut of LPGA Bahamas event
- Tianlang adds another US event to schedule
- Clock ticking for next golden generation
- Nadal wants to create history at Roland Garros
- Serena out to tame French Open demons
- Zheng Jie stuns Wozniacki in Brussels
- British Open: Ramy Ashour racks up 38th successive win
- Nicol David sails into quarter-finals of British Open in 35 minutes
- BAM must stop rewarding mediocrity or be doomed
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Thousands throng thanksgiving rally by DAP
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Rally organisers told to adhere to Act or face the music
- DJ stands by hubby in molest case
- Adam pleads not guilty to giving seditious speech
- Copies of Opposition tabloids seized for violating permit
- Umno leaders back police action against those who utter seditious remarks
- Large migrant population a security risk to Sabah, RCI told
- Air Asia's Tony Fernandes to ‘fire up’ investors
- Singapore GDP growth surprises, beats economists’ forecast of contraction
- KL car number plates to bear ‘W1A’
- Tian, Tamrin and Haris released after remand denied (updated)
- Malaysia leads the way in Basel III debt
- Three held over May 13 statements
- Inventions a-plenty, but no real innovation
- Fernandes does his first firing in Apprentice Asia
- Wall Street sags, HP hits 52-week high
- Malaysia tycoon Vincent Tan plans IPO of football club Cardiff City
RSS
