Johnny Chan headed for PokerStars?

We’re probably reading a lot into nothing, but earlier this week Johnny Chan found himself without an online poker home as Chan Poker closed its doors. Then, a few days later, PokerStars makes a big deal out of Chan’s appearance at the upcoming APT event in Macau.

Quote from the PokerStars blog:

Joining the field of 20 world class champions in a tournament that is destined to become the largest-ever in Asia with 500+ participants, is poker legend Johnny ‘The Orient Express’ Chan. There are few players on the planet who can rival his poker record, with ten World Series of Poker bracelets to his name and more than $6.7 million in tournament earnings during his career.

“It’s great for Poker in Asia that there’s a major tournament like this here in Macau,” says Chan. “It’s bringing in top players like myself, and letting the world know that there is real poker here, and real poker players here, and that anybody can win millions of dollars.”

With Stars aggressively pursuing the Asian market and Chan currently without a room to promote, the partnership would certainly make sense. It’s easy to speculate that Chan’s support of the APT might be some sort of trial run between the two parties to test the waters of a possible, broader relationship.