Tony Hachem Crowned PokerStars.net ANZPT Champion
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA, AUGUST 9, 2009 - This weekend at the Gold Coast's Conrad Jupiter's casino two people walked away as champions. Tony Hachem a member of Team PokerStars Pro Australia won the overall point's race in the tour. Then there was Scott Kerr who outlasted 248 players to win the PokerStars.net ANZPT Queensland taking home $168,075.
The PokerStars.net ANZPT has been travelling to Australia and New Zealand's leading casinos since February this year. The tour has travelled to Adelaide's SkyCity Casino, Sydney's Star City Casino, Melbourne's Crown Poker Room, Queenstown SkyCity Casino, Conrad's Treasury Casino and Conrad's Jupiter's Casino. The tour has seen 1,309 players take part with 25% qualifying on PokerStars and has awarded $2,982,196. Season 2 starts in Adelaide at SkyCity Casino from 9 - 14 February 2010.
Team PokerStars Pro Australia player Tony Hachem has cashed in four of the five ANZPT events, a fabulous performance proving his consistency as a player. He wins entry into all of the PokerStars.net APPT events across Asia Pacific. Chris Levick, the winner of ANZPT Melbourne came second in the points race and wins entry into every ANZPT event in Season 2. Joel Dodd's took out third place and seat at the 2010 Aussie Millions.
"I am very happy to be the PokerStars.net ANZPT Champion; this tour has been a fantastic experience. I am looking forward to keeping up my good form when the APPT starts in Macau later this month." said Tony following the announcement of his victory.
This was the first major poker tournament in Queensland. It was held across two venues, Conrad's Treasury Casino in Brisbane and Conrad's Jupiter's Casino at the Gold Coast. The tournament's final two days were played out at the Gold Coast. The tournament was the second largest on the tour proving there is certainly an appetite for events like these in Queensland.
Tony Hachem was watching from the rail as Scott Kerr negotiated his way through the final table. Play started with eight players because of a double elimination late on day three. The tournament moved very quickly lasting only five hours. Scott Kerr qualified for the tournament on PokerStars and has only recently started playing poker in earnest. "I am so happy to have won, it is has been such a great experience competing against so many great players," said Scott before heading off to tell his mother of his victory.
The tournament started with 249 players generating a total prize pool of $622,500. Some of Australia and New Zealand's brightest poker players participated in the event, including PokerStars Team Pro Australia players; Lee Nelson, Emad Tahtouh, Eric Assadourian, Grant Levy, Tony Hachem and Celina Lin.
The final standings and monies earned are as follows:
1. $168,075 Scott Kerr (NSW, Australia)
2. $112,050 Phillip Willcocks (Auckland, New Zealand)
3. $62,250 Joel Dodd's (NSW, Australia)
4. $49,800 Shoshiro Karita (Victoria, Australia)
5. $40,463 Scott Smith (NSW, Australia)
6. $31,125 Danny Joukhadar (NSW, Australia)
7. $21,788 Paul Gibson (Queensland, Australia)
8. $16,496 Lee Fraser (Manchester, England)
9. $12,450 Eric Sclavos (NSW, Australia)
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY $622,500
