Joe Hachem
Joe Hachem was born in 1966 in Lebanon. However when he was six years old, his family moved to Australia. Although he played poker growing up it was not until he developed a rare blood disorder which affected his hands that he had to give up his job as a chiropractor. While he was contemplating what to do with his future he began to play more poker but although he was playing more frequently he did not decide to concentrate on playing seriously for another five years.
Joe Hachem
He began playing in tournaments around Melbourne and he would quite often cash. For another five years Hachem played these Australian tournaments before deciding to try his hand in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker tournament.
Hachem headed to Las Vegas in 2005 and entered the World Series of Poker Main Event. He was relatively unknown on the Vegas tournament circuit but that did not stop him from beating 5618 players to claim the crown and $7,500,000 in prize money. This was the biggest ever payout for one tournament at the time. Hachem was the first Australian to have ever won a WSOP bracelet for the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship Main Event and he instantly became a hero on the Australian poker scene.
Hachem’s win in the WSOP Main Event in 2005 has helped him to place in the top ten of all time money winners. His total tournament earnings so far are over $10 million and almost $8 million of that was won at the World Series of Poker with just 10 cashes.
Hachem lives with his wife and four children and also runs a mortgage company. He is also a representative of the online poker site PokerStars along with fellow professional poker players Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer.
