Among poker scribes, Johnny Chan reigns as a particularly challenging subject. I myself have had a few brushes with the Orient Express, and, put simply, Chan just never seemed all that crazy about being questioned.

So, on the Vegas afternoon that I call Chan, hoping to arrange a date for a future chat, I am surprised by his enthusiastic response: ‘Let’s do it right now.’ I explain that I’m unprepared for an immediate meeting, but he won’t hear of it. ‘I’m having lunch at the Paiza Club, up at Palazzo,’ he says, referring to the elite Asian-themed private casino-within-a-casino, reserved for the highest of high rollers.