Sam Farha(credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Lebanon, a mountainous country bordered by Syria on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, has produced several world-class poker players. Sam Farha, who finished second to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, has two WSOP bracelets and over two million in lifetime tournament earnings. Yehia “Joe” Awada, a former juggler who once toured with the Harlem Globetrotters, received his first WSOP bracelet in 2004. The stud specialist has also made final tables on the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker Circuit.
Kassem “Freddy” Deeb has both World Series of Poker and World Poker tour wins. Last year, Deeb took down more than two million as the champ of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP. Then, of course, there’s Joseph “Joe” Hachem. The transplanted Australian took down the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2005. In 2006, he won the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship. The father of four, who is sponsored by PokerStars, also finished first in the Asia Pacific Poker Tour tournament of Champions in 2007, beating Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, Greg Raymer and each of the APPT’s inaugural season champs.
It would seem that poker would be a national pastime in Lebanon. However, it has only been dealt at the Casino du Liban in Jounieh since June of 2007. On December 27-28, 2007, the CDL held the Middle East’s biggest poker tournament to date. 126 players paid $5,000 USD to play in the Lebanese Poker Championships. On Day One, 94 of those players were eliminated. Day Two brought the action down to the final nine with Majid El Khoury in the lead.
However, on the very first hand of the final table, El Khoury lost nearly half of his stack to Mohammed Seblini. After that devastating loss, El Khoury would continue to struggle. He eventually bowed out in fifth place. He was eliminated by the tournament’s eventual winner, amateur player Walid Bou Habib.
As three handed play got underway, the lone Russian at the final table, Yuri Kerzhapkin contested the other players’ attempts at striking a deal. Kerzhapkin turned on the aggression, which was not to his advantage. Soon thereafter, Bou Habib busted him in third place. Bou Habib then went on to make a deal with Mohammed Seblini. Seblini mucked his cards, collecting $110,000 for the runner up position, allowing Bou Habib to take the title and the $200,000.
Here are the final results:
1) Walid Bou Habib - $200,000
2) Mohammed Seblini - $110,000
3) Yuri Kerzhapkin - $65,000
4) Omar Geadah - $50,000
5) Majid El Khoury - $40,000
6) Michel Helou - $25,000
7) Bassam El Najjar - $20,000
8) Maen El Hachem - $15,000
9) Ramez Haddad - $10,000