Johnny Chan to Build Poker Hotels Worldwide

Poker legend Johnny Chan is partnering with Las Vegas hotelier Liko Smith to create 5th Street, "The World's First Poker Hotel." The first location will open in Los Angeles county in 2007. Other sites under development include: California, Illinois, New York, Florida and Macau.

The creative team for the hotel concept includes, Johnny Chan, Liko Smith of Rogue Hospitality and Matt Savage, Jeff Brausch and Kelly Flynn of THE DIVISION Poker. The team has been developing the concept for nearly 2 years. You may know Rogue Hospitality as the exclusive management force behind THE BLOCK "The World's First Snowboarder Hotels."

"When we first approached Johnny about our plans to create a hotel that would cater exclusively to poker in his image, he was 100% for it," said Liko Smith, President of Rogue Hospitality.

"5th Street is going to for poker players everywhere and set a new standard of service, quality, and game that you can't get online, or in any casino in the US today," he added.

Kelly Flynn, 5th Street Partner, said, "The time has come for a concept such as 5th Street to grace the felt for poker players- a hotel for poker players by poker players. It will be a home away from home, the cure for the common casino that most poker players are forced to find themselves in now."

All 5th Street hotels will offer highly designed exteriors and interiors, state of the art room amenities. Daily services will include fully licensed Poker Tournaments in the best Poker rooms on the planet. 5th Street Hotels will create a "high-roller" experience for guests from reservations to check out.

As such, plans call for rooms to include: 70-inch plasma screens, in-room safes, free wi/fi, 500 watt custom sounds systems, full service computers, fax machines and high-quality case furnishings with complimentary fine cigars and hi-def wall art of the greatest poker photographs ever taken.

Hotels planned will be full service with valet, fine dining restaurants, rooftop bars, spa and massage treatment and an exclusive full service men's salon as well as a 24-hour cafe. Poker will be the primary game at 5th Street- no slots, keno, craps or roulette.

The hotel along with its multi-million dollar poker rooms, will feature monthly celebrity poker tournaments and social events.

Johnny Chan's 1998 World Series of Poker win was immortalized in footage included in the movie Rounders. He is a legend in the Poker World. With two World Series of Poker championship titles (1987 and 1988) under his belt and impressive ownership of 10 WSOP bracelets, his career achievements far surpass what most players can only dream about.

Nicknamed the "Orient Express," Chan is the first international great Asian poker player and serves as an inspiration and role model to many. Since he broke into the game, there has been overwhelming surge of great Asian players among the professional tournament circuit today.

More Poker News Articles

PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour
12am Wed Nov 4th, 2009

PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.

Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.

Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.

Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event
12am Sat Oct 31st, 2009

Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.

Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27
12am Tue Oct 27th, 2009

Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.

Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.

Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.

Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon?
12am Mon Oct 26th, 2009

Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.

Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table
12am Sun Oct 25th, 2009

The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts.

11 Remain in WPT Festa al Lago Main Event
12am Sun Oct 25th, 2009

The fourth day of the Festa al Lago WPT $15,000 Championship began with 37 players, just ten eliminations away from the money. Though action was painfully slow at times, it hit break-neck speed before the end of the night, leaving only 11 players standing heading into Day 5. Click here for Day 4 photos and chip counts.