M'sian wins $2 million - thanks to his
poker face
BIG WINNER: Mr Mervin
Chan beat seven other poker aces to win the 8-day poker
competition. PICTURE: CROWN CASINO MELBOURNE
HE WAS up against some of the top poker players, including a
two-time World Series Poker finalist.
But Malaysian poker ace Mervin Chan didn't flinch
in the face of massive odds.
The 29-year-old went on to topple the world's best
players to win the 2013 Aussie Millions Main Event at Crown Casino,
Melbourne.
Mr Chan took home A$1.6 million (S$2.05 million).
He beat back the challenge from seven other high-stakes
professional players after a gruelling eight-day competition, The
Star reported.
In addition to his cash prize, Mr Chan also took
home a brand new Chrysler 300C car worth more than $50,000.
"I'm speechless! I'm feeling really great to have
all this cash. I'm just feeling really, really, really, great,"
said Mr Chan in a video interview shortly after his big finale win
against 2011 Melbourne Poker champion Joe Cabret.
Marathon
Following a marathon 15-hour session on Saturday,
the three remaining players who failed to reach a conclusion had to
return on Sunday for an unscheduled , extra final day to decide on
a winner.
This time, things didn't take long. It was all over
after just 1½ hours, pokerplayer.co.uk reported.
Known as "The Cat", Mr Chan stuck out from his
group of highly successful enterpreneur friends for his wildly
unorthodox career choice of being a high-stakes poker player.
With fewer chips than some of his contenders, Mr
Chan endured the card-flying gauntlet as the bigger players crashed
out one by one.
His opponents included former Aussie Millions
A$100,000 Challenge 2010 champion Dan Shak, two-time World Series
Poker finalist Patrik Antonius, and poker players Mr Cabret, Mr
Jarrod Glennon, Ms Jay Tan and Mr David Yan.
The final was down to Mr Cabret and Mr Chan.
Added Mr Chan: "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."
Mr Cabret earned A$1 million for finishing
second.
News, The News Paper, Wednesday, February 6 2013, Pg 20
