Joseph Hachem (; ; born 11 March 1966) is a Lebanese-Australian professional poker player known for being the first Australian to win the World Series of Poker main event, which earned him $7.5 million, then a record for all-time biggest tournament prize. The next year, Hachem won his first World Poker Tour title at the Bellagio Casino's Five Diamonds Poker Classic, earning him $2.2 million. He is one of only six poker players to win both a World Series of Poker main event and a World Poker Tour championship. Including his WSOP Main Event victory, Hachem has finished in the money in thirteen World Series events. As of January 2018, Hachem's tournament winnings exceed $12,200,000, making him the 35th-highest ranked player in live tournament career earnings. Early life Joseph Hachem was born in Lebanon on 11 March 1966. In 1972, at age six, Hachem and his family moved to Melbourne, Australia. He worked as a chiropractor for 13 years before giving up the career after developing a rare blood disorder that affected the blood vessels in his hands. Around 1995, while taking time off to consider his future, Hachem started to play poker with greater frequency, mostly in casinos, as well as online. He also ran a small brokerage business in Pascoe Vale, Victoria. Hachem said he was too temperamental when he first started playing poker and had to learn to control his temper. Around 2000, after years of casual playing, Hachem started playing regularly in tournaments at the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, where he often ended in the money. Hachem spent another five years playing regularly on the Melbourne tournament circuit before setting his sights on the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada. Poker career 2005 World Series of Poker Just prior to entering the 2005 World Series of Poker, Hachem visited the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California, to play in a no-limit Texas hold 'em game. One of the players made a joke that Hachem was stopping in before being crowned the new "Australian champion". Hachem entered the World Series of Poker as a relatively unknown poker player. Two weeks prior to the main event, Hachem finished 10th in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit Hold'em World Series event, winning $25,850. Hachem won the 2005 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, outlasting 5,618 other players. He won $7,500,000 for