Won the 2005 Main Event, the first one with a field over 5,000 players
As a young man, Joe Hachem had his life mapped out. Then life dealt him another hand.
Born in Lebanon, Hachem's family moved to Australia in the early 1970s when he was just six years old. Hachem thrived in his new environment. As he grew up, his one dream wasn't wrapped up in career or wealth - he wanted a family of his own.
Married in early 20s, Hachem didn't waste time fulfilling that dream. Over the years, he and his wife had four children. In order to support his growing family, Joe became a chiropractor. For 13 years his practice grew, then just after the Millennium, he developed a rare blood disease. It wasn't life threatening, but it did affect his hands and his livelihood.
With a big family to provide for, Hachem didn't have time to feel sorry for himself. He changed gears quickly and became a mortgage broker. The one added benefit of his new job was the extra time he had for himself. This was something relatively new for him - after all, by putting family first it meant he was always coming in second. Taking advantage of his newly found free time, Hachem started playing poker. In three years, he reached several final tables around Melbourne, and when a friend qualified for the Main Event, Hachem decided to join him in Vegas.
The field at the 2005 Main Event had more than doubled in size from the previous year, going from 2,576 players to 5,618. Hachem faced elimination several times, but he managed to make it to the final table - albeit with one of the smaller stacks. Eventually, the match came down to him and Steve Dannenmann. When his flopped straight held up against Dannermann's pair of Aces, he walked away from the table wrapped in the Australian flag and $7.5 million richer.
The following year, Hachem won a WPT Championship. Not a bad way to start off yet another new career. As it turns out, after giving himself a break, he wound up helping his family more than he ever dreamt.
