But with over $2,000,000 to the champion, young gun David Redlin, Gus Hansen protégé Mads Anderson, solid pro Ed Jordan and ex pro footballer Jim Hanna won’t take a back down from their shot at the glory that comes with winning on the WPT.

The final hand of the tournament went as follows; Jim Hanna makes it $720,000 from the button and Joseph Hachem moves all-in. Hanna makes the call for $4,160,000 and shows Qc Jc. Hachem has As 6c. The flop comes Ac Qd 3d and both players make a pair. The turn is the 8c and Hanna has plenty of outs to stay alive. The audience is on its feet for fifth street, hollering for the red deuce, and the river card is indeed the 2c.

Hachem wins the pot with a pair of aces and takes home the $2,182,075 first prize as well as entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship, Jim Hanna gets a $1,099,430 consolation prize for his second place finish.

Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Champion, has joined the elite fraternity of players who have won both a World Series and a World Poker Tour, joining Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortenson and Scotty Nguyen. For Hachem, it was massive validation, and put to rest any suggestion his '05 victory was anything but earned. Hachem defeated former NFL player Jim Hanna in the final, after Hanna disposed of the new all-time WPT money leader Daniel Negreanu. It was just Hanna's second World Poker Tour. We expect there will be many more.

Here is how the final table payout looked:
1st - Joseph Hachem $2,182,075
2nd - Jim Hanna $1,099,430
3rd - Daniel Negreanu $592,000
4th - Mads Anderson $380,630
5th - David Redlin $253,715
6th - Ed Jordan $169,145

--Steven Eddleston