The World Series of Poker Winner 2005

Australian Joseph Hachem is new World Champ!

The crowning of a new World Series of Poker Winner this past weekend gives us a chance to pick our way through some of the dramas which lead to Australian Joseph Hachem winning $7,500,000.

WORLD SERIES WORTHY WINNER
Hachem was a worthy winner having fought his way back from a crippling short stack which he nursed through an entire night, playing the tight, calculated poker that his diminished position required. Watching the twelve hours of his discipline is exactly the tutorial any beginner at Texas hold’em needs to see. Remarkably, this was the thirty nine year old aussie’s first time in a World Series. This fact alone should give all of you onliners out there just the confidence you need to take this tournament of tournaments on when you feel ready.

HIGH DRAMA FOR FINAL NINE
From an initial field of 5,619 poker players a final nine emerged having fought their way through more than an entire week of gruelling, duelling poker. It’s impossible to think of any sporting event where every one of the nine finalists were guaranteed at least a million dollars in prize money. The atmosphere at Binion’s legendary Hotel in downtown Las Vegas was already surreal but just imagine the scene whenTex Barch had over $16,500,000, Steven Dannenmann had $16,400,000 and Joseph Hachem had $23,200,000. These are mega stacks, even by Kerry Packer standards. Now picture shotgun weilding Vegas security guards dumping a $7,500,000 mountain of $100 bills on a table next to the finalists who were by now thirteen hours into their ordeal. A moment of high drama was Mike “The Mouth” Matusow’s confrontation with Scott Lazar who called Matusow’s all-in. Scott took salt to the open wound, doubled up and reduced The Mouth’s stack by half when his ace hig