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.

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.

[3][4][5] A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads-up match is featured in the 1998 movie Rounders, in which Chan makes a cameo appearance.

[11][12] 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.

[16] Chan's last recorded cash dates back to 2019, when he had a fairly deep run in the WSOP Main Event, eventually busting in 560th place.

[19] 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.

[20] His appearances in which he made it to heads-up were: Chan won Bob Stupak's 1981 American Cup poker tournament.

[31] In addition to playing poker, Chan owns a fast-food franchise in the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel and is a consultant for casinos and game makers.