Kenny Tran

Kenny “The Kid” Tran has been cleaning up in California card rooms for years, most commonly at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

A father of three, Kenny is an old-school gambler in a new-school game. Kenny has come a long way from working at McDonald’s when he first moved here to the states. Since then, he’s been serving up only pain at the poker table, as opponents try to stay out of his way.

In 2007, Kenny Tran made the biggest cashes of his career at the two most prestigious World Series of Poker events. He place fifth in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, which contained one of the toughest fields ever assembled. Then, in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, Tran outlasted more than 6,000 players and finished sixteenth. Those two cashes combined account for just over $825,000 of his career winnings of almost $1.3 million.

Kenny has decided to focus more of his time on the tournament circuit, which is bad news for other players.

ESPN has started to take notice as well. Kenny was one of the featured Main Event players on the WSOP broadcasts, following his deep run with every all in and turn card. Kenny may be on the road to a new nickname as a result of the show. “Sick Call” Kenny is what people began to dub the poker super star, after making numerous calls in tough situations that even the best of the best claim they would have trouble making.

The rumors about Tran say he makes five figures a day in those lucrative California cash games. When asked if that claim is true, Kenny doesn’t refute it. Regardless of the math, the consensus is the man’s been making a killing for a long time.

The guy is a beast at the table, and he knows it.