A charity event almost ruined after thieves go on a very expensive and dangerous joyride.

Joe Hachem with the limo driver

Australian poker icon and 2005 WSOP Main Event champion Joe Hachem was the victim of a very unlikely auto theft this week, as the $200,000 limousine he was using was stolen.

He and Aussie Rules Footballer Brendan Fevola were due to take the limousine to the Sphinx Hotel in Geelong, Australia, to play in the All In For Charity tournament, which Hachem was co-hosting with cricketer Shane Warne.

The Fisherman's Pier restaurant had donated use of two limos for the charity, but as Hachem and company were preparing to attend the event, the driver arrived to say it had been stolen after he briefly got out of the car to tell his customers he had arrived.

A $200,000 joyride

The thieves took the car on a joyride at high speed before crashing it and damaging the front of it. They then broke into a house to get the keys to steal another car to make their getaway.

This is one of many instances where high profile poker players have been the victims of robbery. Doyle Brunson has been robbed several times, most recently faking a heart attack to get the assailants to leave. Greg Raymer was also the victim of an armed attempted robbery in his hotel room. Theo Jorgensen and Jonathan Duhamel were both in recent years targeted by robbers and attacked in their homes. Then, of course, there was the very high profile armed robbery at EPT Berlin in 2010.

Thankfully in this instance nobody was hurt, the men made it to the event and lots of money was raised for breast cancer awareness.

The limo after it was recovered

Do you think Hachem was targetted or this was just an opportunistic joy ride?

Barry Carter Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. Twitter

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