Wednesday, May 28, 2008

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WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 10

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

By Jason Kirk

This is the final installment of a 10-part series taking a look at the World Series of Poker champions from the very first to the most recent and at what they've done since in the world of poker.

The past three years of the World Series of Poker have seen an Aussie rise to the top, Gold shine and the chip sea part for the crossing of Yang into poker history.

Joe Hachem (2005)

Australia's Joe Hachem will go down in poker history as the last WSOP champ to earn his title at the Horseshoe, birthplace of the world's greatest poker tournament. However, it's become apparent in the last three years that Hachem was never going to be content with the single big score.

The WSOP has been good to Hachem since his 2005 triumph. He cashed five times between 2006 and 2007, for a total take of just over $400,000.

That includes two final tables during the 2006 WSOP, with an agonizing loss to Dutch Boyd in the $2,500 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event; Hachem got his money in as a 3-1 favorite, only to see Boyd spike a three-outer on the river to claim the bracelet.

As good as his record at the WSOP has been, Hachem enjoyed his second-largest career cash on the World Poker Tour. He emerged victorious at the 2006 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship, topping a field of 583 to claim the $2,207,575 first prize.

Hachem has two other WPT cashes to his credit as well, despite his status as one of the plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit filed against the WPT in 2006.

Nor has success eluded Hachem in other tournaments around the world. He recently took 11th place in the EPT's Season 4 Grand Final, and has made final tables in WSOP Circuit, Asia Pacific Poker Tour and Victorian Poker Championship main events. Hachem also won an installment of NBC's Poker After Dark last year, finished sixth in the 2008 Canadian Poker Championship, and took 23rd in the 2008 Aussie Millions main event.

All those victories place Hachem high on a number of all-time poker lists. He ranks second on the all-time money list, third on the WSOP all-time money list, 23rd on the WPT all-time money list and first on the all-time Australian money list.

In addition to his credentials at the table, Hachem has been an ambassador for the game around the world. He regularly makes appearances with Team PokerStars, his sponsor, and was the catalyst for the Australian poker boom, which shows no signs of slowing down.

With such an impressive resume over the last three years, the poker world's favorite Aussie has arguably been the most successful WSOP Main Event champion since Juan Carlos Mortensen.

Jamie Gold (2006)

Thanks to his slippery table ethics during the tournament and a questionable choice to ignore a handshake deal for half his winnings, Jamie Gold quickly became one of the most controversial champions in the history of the WSOP Main Event.

All that glitters is not Gold.

Gold's troubles began almost immediately after he defeated Paul Wasicka for the largest prize in the history of tournament poker.

Crispin Leyser, the man with whom Gold had struck a gentleman's agreement prior to the start of the 2006 Main Event, wanted his half of Gold's winnings. Gold refused to pay up immediately, leading to a lawsuit that that was eventually settled in February 2007 for an undisclosed sum.

The champion's sponsor during the Main Event, Bodog, kept him on their roster long enough to film a few commercials but officially parted ways with Gold in January 2007. Since then he has not picked up another poker sponsor, choosing instead to promote his own production company, BuzzNation, in his televised appearances.

Those apperances have been relatively frequent for Gold in the two years since his win. He has appeared on both Season 3 and Season 4 of High Stakes Poker, four episodes of NBC's Poker After Dark, and the PartyPoker Poker Nations Cup.

Gold has also made a point of actively participating in numerous charity poker events, helping to repair some of the damage he did to his reputation in 2006.

At the tables, the champ hasn't enjoyed a lot of success since his big win. He did manage to cash twice in the span of one week at the 2007 WSOP, and also finished 35th at the inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event last September. Despite his dearth of poker accomplishments since winning the big one, Gold still ranks first on the all-time money list.

Xao "Jerry" Yang (2007)

Took his money and ran.

If 2002 WSOP Main Event champion Robert Varkonyi has been invisible since his win, 2007 champ Jerry Yang has been a black hole from which no light - or information - has escaped.

Yang has a single cash to his credit since taking home the second-largest prize in the history of tournament poker, having finished 14th in the $1,000 main event of the 2007 Binion's Poker Open in downtown Vegas. That event drew only 124 entries and paid out only 15 spots, meaning Yang just barely squeaked into the money. He took home $1,324 for his finish.

The information available about the rest of Yang's life hasn't changed since he rivered a straight to claim his title. Nearly every Web site that mentions Yang and his big win simply reiterates the profile available on his official Web site, which is powered by Full Tilt Poker and has not been updated since last year.

Given his status as the defending champion, it's probable that Yang will show up at this year's WSOP. Whether he'll be ready to tell the world more about himself, however, is a different matter altogether.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Surveying the last 38 years' worth of WSOP champions reveals that fate and luck can play as big a part in the aftermath of any player's victory as they did at the felt. From the Hal Fowlers, who meet with crippling misfortune, to the Robert Varkonyis, who cultivate a low profile, to the Joe Hachems, who build on their triumph, it's difficult to predict what's in the cards for any given WSOP champion.

What is worth putting money on is that, despite its humble beginnings, the Main Event now holds the most powerful allure of any competition in the world of poker.

Numerous rounders each year dream of scoring that bracelet. If you happen to be one of them, check out the myriad ways and means of qualifying for the WSOP through PokerListings' unbeatable promotions.

And if you can't be there to take to the felt in person, PokerListings will be on the scene for every event of the 2008 World Series of Poker to bring poker fans all the best reports, live updates, photos, interviews, videos and more.

Check out the actions in the Live Tournaments section starting May 30 when the cards hit the felt at noon for Event 1.

Related Articles:

• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 9
• World champions: Where are they now, Part 8
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 7
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 6
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 5
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 4
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 3
• WSOP champions: Where are they now, Part 2
• WSOP Champions: Where are they now, Part 1

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