Joe Hachem

Born in 1966 in Lebanon, Joe Hachem moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia in 1972, which has been his home ever since. He had been a successful chiropractor for 13 years, but in 2001, he developed a rare blood disorder which rendered his hands useless for his beloved profession (although fine for everyday tasks).

Down, but not out, Hachem took up a new career as a mortgage broker, making a solid living for a few years until a market slump made things difficult.

In the meantime, Hachem explored poker more seriously, playing primarily at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, and eventually getting more and more into playing on the internet. By the time the 2005 World Series of Poker rolled around, he considered himself a semi-professional player.

Leaving his wife and kids back home, Hachem took the long flight to Vegas in the summer of 2005 to fulfill a dream and play in the World Series. Still an unknown internationally, he finished tenth in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, earning himself a $25,850, and he then took almost half of that check and paid the $10,000 entry fee to play in the Main Event.

Hachem was still fairly anonymous going into the final table sixth in chips, and he stayed quiet most of the way, at one point falling to last place. But Hachem persevered, eventually eliminating his final competitor, Steve Dannenmann, on a flopped straight. For outlasting the largest field in the history of poker and enduring the longest final table in WSOP history, Hachem earned the biggest paycheck to that point in poker history: $7.5 million.

Joe Hachem Fun Facts and Finishes 

• He operates a mortgage company.
  
• Has a wife, Jeannie, and four children.
• Placed fifth in $10,000 Championship Event at the WSOP Tournament Circuit - Paris/Bally's Las Vegas.
• Had a successful sophomore season at the 2006 WSOP, with two final tables, a fifteenth place finish, and another deep run in the Main Event.
• Won the $15,000 buy-in WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic and the top prize of over $2.2 million.
• Hachem's career earnings of over $12 million in live tournament plan.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize (US$)
2005	$10,000 Texas Hold’em	$7,500,000