It’s not often that we get to see Poker prowess running in a family – but over in Australia, the Hachem brothers prove to have just that. The Aussie duo have won multiple big money Poker events in their own right, with Joe Hachem being perhaps the more successful brother out of the two – holding the record as the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event.
Join us as we give you a brief history of these iconic players’ careers, and a little glimpse into where they are today.
Joe Hachem
Before his debut into the world of Poker, Joe Hachem was working as a chiropractor for 13 years before giving up the practice due to ill health. Around 1995, Hachem began to play Poker as a form of entertainment, whilst he tried to get his health back on track.
Hachem could be found playing in his local casino and online – so you never know, whilst Paddy Power offers free spins on registration with no deposit, you may have brushed virtual shoulders with the well-seasoned player in his early days when getting your own fix of casino gameplay!
Prior to his official debut, Hachem visited the Bicycle Casino in California, participating in a game of no-limit Texas Hold ’em. Leaving the table with a 10th place prize pot under his belt, Hachem entered the 2005 World Series of Poker competition as a fairly unknown player.
After laying down the $10,000 entrance fee in cash, a fresh-faced Hachem went up against 5,816 other players and emerged as the winner, with a whopping $7,500,000 going straight into his pockets. And that’s not all, he also managed to bag the world record for the all-time biggest Poker tournament prize. Hachem’s final table performance lasted an unbelievable 133 hours and 54 minutes, almost bagging him yet another world record.
Hachem’s success in 2005 led to a considerable boom in Poker playing in Australia, and he found himself continuing to play with friends and family after his big win. In fact, a film-documentary was also made to document his incredible feat, alongside the other eight players who made it to that final table.
In 2006, Hachem won at WSOP yet again, however on a slightly smaller scale. This time, he left the table with a 2nd place win from a game of no limit Hold ‘Em. He still pocketed an impressive $256, 800 – but was visibly disappointed by the downgrade from his previous year’s finish.
From there, Hachem has gone on to maintain his fame, although his wins have remained fairly sporadic. He has also secured several TV appearances along the way, including producing and presenting The Poker Star – in which players competed for their own slice of fame.
Tony Hachem
Introduced to the game by his older brother, its no surprise that Tony Hachem has also found himself pulling up a chair at some of the best Poker tables around. Acting as his brother’s biggest support, Hachem followed him on different tours and began to pick up a thing or two about the much-loved game.
Following in Joe Hachem’s footsteps, the younger player kept things close to home; going on to win Player of the Year in the Australasian Poker Tour two years in a row – 2009 and 2010. He continued to win some handsome cash prizes, mostly on home turf.
In 2011, both Tony Hachem sat at the table for the World Series of Poker’s main event – marking it as the first time a pair of brothers has even taken this place, albeit separately. Tony Hachem finished 37th, with a prize of over $190,000, still respectable for a somewhat amateur player.
