The 2005 WSOP Main Event champion announced the new partnership during a press conference at the Crown Casino in Hachem’s hometown of Melbourne, Australia, where the Aussie Millions is currently taking place.
“Recently I left my biggest sponsor and basically it was about not living out of a suitcase all the time and being able to spend more time at home with my family,” said Hachem.
AsianLogic may not be nearly as established as sites like PokerStars or PartyPoker but operates a number of Asian online casinos and poker rooms on the Playtech software platform.
For years Asia has been touted as the biggest emerging market for online poker and Joe Hachem mentioned he still believes the boom is coming.
“Australia, Asia and Australasia are, in my opinion, still untapped,” he said.
Perhaps the most visible role Hachem will have with AsianLogic for the time being is his new role as ambassador for the up-and-coming Asian Poker Tour. AsianLogic acquired the tour in 2008.
Hachem will join J.C. Tran and Nam Le as ambassadors for the tour.
The Asian Poker Tour has awarded millions since its inception and currently has stops in China, India and the Philippines.
“Hopefully we’ll bring [the APT] Down Under to the Crown Casino for a tournament soon,” said Hachem.
Hachem, arguably the most famous Australian poker player, should help put AsianLogic on the Australian radar.
“Joe is one of the most recognized and respected poker players in the world and we’re very excited to have him on board,” said AsianLogic CEO Tom Hall.
“It’s not just Joe’s poker playing abilities that were interested in, though, it’s his knowledge and understanding of the industry both here in Australia and internationally.”
The 2012 Aussie Millions continues through Jan. 28 with Hachem set to play in both the Main Event and the $100k Challenge, which both started today.
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