Joe Hachem and Shane Warne Charity Poker Tournament

01/17/2012 : AUSSIE CHARITY POKER TOURNAMENT ANOTHER SUCCESS
 
More money raised for good causes
 
The annual Joe Hachem and Shane Warne Charity Poker Tournament has been raising funds for the Shane Warne Foundation charity for the past five years, with the 2011 event that concluded this week another success.
 
Poker pro and former WSOP champ Hachem and ace cricketer and celebrity poker player Warne clearly make a good Aussie team, drawing in an impressive range of celebrities and poker lovers to play and over the years raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.
 
The fifth edition of the tournament was held Sunday in Studio 3, the official film studio of the Aussie Millions, and attracted a stellar list of competitors that included sporting figures and poker pros like Tony G, Patrik Antonius, Tony Hachem, Robert Williamson III, Daniel Cates, Tiffany Michelle, Maria Ho, Clonie Gowen, Marsha Waggoner, Marvin Rettenmaier, and Annette Obrestad.
 
The top prize was a seat at the next World Series of Poker main event that included a travel and accommodation package, a Tissot watch and a signed Shane Warne cricket ball.
 
Runner up prizes featured seats in the Aussie Millions main event, with other incentives for the top 15 finishers in the charity match donated by leading online poker companies.
 
Despite the formidable competition, it was a 36-year-old Aussie forklift driver, Glen McGregor, who took the honours and the top prize after a heads up against Alain Boratuad. The two faced each other after former WSOP champ Joe Hachem busted out in third place, but the encounter lasted only two hands after McGregor scored bigtime on the first to defeat his opponent in the second.
 
Obrestad and Rettenmaier both ran deep and won lower level prizes but didn't make the top nine players, whilst Warne managed an eighth placing
 
McGregor had not intended to enter the event, but was persuaded by a friend, who staked him, to take part.