Another one of the relatively new faces in poker is Hevad Khan. Born in New York in 1985, Khan has already built up a respectable tournament resume, won over $2.5 million in tournament earnings, and earned himself a spot on Team PokerStars.
Much like fellow Team PokerStars member Bertrand ��ElkY�� Grosepllier, Khan began playing StarCraft before picking up professional poker. He attended SUNY Albany before dropping out to pursue poker full time. In the online world, Hevad goes by ��RaiNKhaN�� and is known for his ability to push multi-tabling to the extreme. In fact, his account was once under investigation by PokerStars for being a ��bot�� program and not a real person playing. Khan was able to video himself playing and prove that is was indeed him playing so many tables simultaneously.
At the 2007 WSOP, Khan had a breakout year. He cashed in two preliminary events for over $20,000 total before really putting himself on the map with his performance in the Main Event. Throughout the Main Event, Khan celebrated flamboyantly with circus-type performances. He chanted and even picked up his chair to pump it up and down a few times. His actions combined with his success in the tournament landed him a lot of coverage from the ESPN cameras and a star was born. Khan went on to finish sixth for $956,243 and earned himself a ton of fame once the broadcast aired.
Hevad continued to have success with numerous cashes throughout the year and into 2008. In March of 2008, he took down a preliminary event at the Foxwoods Poker Classic for over $100,000. That same month, he also won the PokerStars Sunday Warm-up for nearly $100,000.
He cashed twice at the WSOP in 2008 and it was because of Khan��s antics the year before that the staff at the World Series put a new rule into effect appropriately named ��The Hevad Khan Rule.�� The rule prohibited players from engaging in excessive celebrations.
After the WSOP was finished in 2008, Khan took down the $9,800 Championship Event at the Caesars Palace Classic. He won a cool $1 million for his victory. A few months later, he kicked off 2009 with a win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $200,000.