World Poker Tour

Alain Hagege

Birthplace
Paris, France

Total Winnings
$14,039

In the poker world, there is no clear definition of who is a professional and who is not. There is no license or test one has to pass. If you have the money, you can play at the professional level. The amount of success is up to you. Still, some people who are considered rank amateurs still like to call themselves professionals. Alain Hagege is not one of those people. A businessman in the import/export trade in France, Hagege will go out of his way to explain to you in his native French that he is the farthest thing from a pro. Nonetheless, that has not stopped him from making onto international television as a WPT final table player.

Hagege sees professional poker as an American game built on American values and American attitudes. At home in Paris, Hagege is a member of the posh Aviation Club, home to Paris' poker playing community (and home to an annual WPT event). There, Hagege spends his time playing poker with like-minded Parisians and enjoying the good life. It's a place where he can relax and not worry about anything but pushing cards and chips back and forth across the table. It was also a place where he honed his skills. Before the poker revolution, Hagege had made several final tables of small events in Paris, including a third place finish in the 2001 European Pot-Limit Omaha championship. Still, he refused to consider himself a star.

However, in the first season of the World Poker Tour, Hagege found himself in the spotlight. In the first-ever World Poker Tour event held in Paris, Hagege made the final table with a number of tough players, including the well-known Tony G. and Allen Cunningham. Hagege placed sixth in that endeavor. While he still continues to play poker, he is more focused on his business life. However, with the skill he's already showed, you never know when the Frenchman will show up at another WPT final table.