JOSEPH HACHEM: 2005 WSOP CHAMPION

7-3 offsuit...the Hachem?

It took 13 hours, 56 minutes, but at 6:44am Pacific Time, Australia's Joseph Hachem was crowned the 2005 World Series of Poker No-Limit Hold’em Champion, the most cherished title in all of poker.

It was a party atmosphere in the tournament room at Binion’s. Even after eons of play into the wee hours of the morning, the crowd remained boisterous. There was the Irish contingent, there was the Australian contingent, there was the Texas contingent, and there was even a......Baltimore contingent. Even those without a rooting interest were vocal.

Before the play could officially start, however, everyone in attendance was asked to stand to “honor America and all the nations of the world” as Diana D’Onfrio sang the national anthem. How that honors nations that are not the United States was not immediately clear, but D’Onfrio’s rendition was pleasant, if a bit imperfect. Maybe the lines, “Gave truth to the night,” and “Home of our brave” were in the sheet music she was given. That said, it was a whole lot better than the performance from the first day of the Main Event. Ear-splitting.

The beginning of the actual play was downright explosive. Brad Kondracki, the shortest stack, moved all-in as the very first player to act on the very first hand, forcing everyone to fold. Then, on the second hand, after some raising pre-flop, Mike Matusow and Scott Lazar put all their chips in pre-flop, Lazar with A-A and Matusow with K-K.

When Matusow hit his King on the flop, the place erupted. When a third heart fell on the turn, the crowed rumbled ever so slightly. And when a fourth heart showed on the river, giving Lazar the flush, the roar was deafening.

Matusow appeared shaken, but he did not have a patented Mike Matusow meltdown. Instead, he took a couple minutes to collect himself and went on with his play.

A few minutes later, Kondracki was once again all-in, and once again, a flush hit on the river. Kondracki doubled-up and everybody in attendance was anticipating a hell of a night.

Alas, play soon slowed down and the tournament crept along into Saturday. It’s not that nobody ever moved all-in, it’s just that if they did get called, the short stacks doubled-up.

One of those short stacks was Joseph Hachem, who nursed a dwindling number of chips most of the night. Aside from his loud Australian cheering section, he was a fairly quiet participant at the final table. Sure, he joked around with the other players, but he did not get involved in as many hands as one might think the eventual champion might.

But when he did make a move, he made it big.

The turning point came at 3:30am, when Hachem limped from the button for $240,000 (it seems weird to say someone “limped” for that much). Tex Barch, the third place finisher, limped, as well, and Aaron Kanter, the chip leader going into the final table, raised it up another million. That was what Hachem was waiting for, as he moved all-in. Barch folded, and after a little thought, Kanter called for almost another $5 million.

Hachem showed Qd-7d and Kanter showed 9s-9d. The flop gave Hachem his Queen and Kanter got no help the rest of the way, allowing Hachem to double-up, catapulting him to the #2 spot with $13,200,000.

Now that Hachem had some chips to play with, he got aggressive, gradually building his stack. Within an hour of his double-up, he was the new chip leader. Once Kanter was eliminated in 4th place a little before 5:00am, Hachem had almost a $6 million chip lead.

And when he eliminated Tex Barch, Hachem went into heads-up play against Steve Dannenmann with more than a 2-to-1 chip lead, $39,995,000 to $16,350,000.

As long as it took to get this far, it all ended quickly.

On the sixth hand of heads-up play, Dannenmann raised to $700,000 on the button and Hachem called (blinds were $150,000/$300,000). The flop came 6h-5d-4d and Dannenmann bet $700,000 after Hachem checked. Hachem raised it up to $1,700,000 and Dannenmann called.

The turn was the Ace of spades and Hachem led out with a $2 million bet. As Dannenmann raised to $5 million, the crowd started getting excited with anticipation. When Hachem moved all-in, the audience got a bit louder, and when Dannenmann, called, everyone rose to their feet, not sure whether to go crazy or stay quiet so they could hear the Tournament Director (turned out that it was crazy, then quiet).

When the players turned over their cards, it was unbelievable that Hachem didn’t jump out of his seat after the flop. He had 3-7, which gave him the second-nut flopped straight. Dannenmann held A-3, giving him top pair, but leaving him with only three outs, the remaining 7’s, just so he could must a chopped pot.

The tension was almost oppressive as everyone was waiting for the river card. When the 4 of clubs revealed itself, the roof came off the building. Hachem stood, head lowered in disbelief, before hugging and congratulating Dannenmann.

As his fellow Aussie’s chanted “Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy!”, Hachem walked around the table, thanking everybody for being there. Hachem, a professional poker player and former chiropractor back in Melbourne, Australia, seemed absolutely touched and honored that so many people stayed so long to watch him win, and not just the Aussies. All of the spectators, regardless of their rooting interest, stayed on their feet all the way through Hachem’s interview with ESPN.

At one point, Hachem asked the Tournament Director if all that money on the table was his. When he received confirmation, he began to unwrap a bundle of the cash, with the intent of throwing it into the crowd. At the request of a tournament official, he didn’t do it (the cash wasn’t really his – he would be receiving a check – the question was misinterpreted as disbelief), but the gesture showed how much he appreciated the fans.

Now that poker is so popular worldwide, it is important that it has a strong ambassador. With this victory, the torch has been passed from Greg Raymer to Joseph Hachem. If his attitude and comments afterward were any indication, he will be a wonderful representative for the poker industry. Truly touched by his good fortune and truly honored to be one of the few to wear the Championship bracelet, he understands his place in poker history. To him, the money is wonderful, but it is just a way for him to take care of his family. What the Championship represents is the important thing to Hachem.

While it did not appear that Hachem was seeking fame, now that it has found him, he looks to have already embraced his position as the new leader of the poker world. There is no doubt that poker is in good hands.

“Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy!” indeed.


Complete Final Table Standings

(Place/Player/Prize Money)

1. Joseph Hachem - $7,500,000
2. Steven Dannenmann - $4,250,000
3. John Barch - $2,500,000
4. Aaron Kanter - $2,000,000
5. Andrew Black - $1,750,000
6. Scott Lazar - $1,500,000
7. Daniel Bergsdorf - $1,300,000
8. Brad Kondracki - $1,150,000
9. Mike Matusow - $1,000,000