Female players holding their own at poker’s biggest event
Thursday 21st June 2007
Katja Thater has won the $1,500 Razz event at the World Series of Poker (event 29) taking home $132,653. She is the first woman to win a WSOP bracelet since 2004, when Cindy Violette, Kathy Liebert and Anny Duke all finished ‘in the jewellery’. Thater saw off several top-flight rivals including Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen. The 40-year-old German woman is one of Europe’s top players, but this is her first WSOP win.
The Ladies Event, which was won by maiden entrant Sally Boyer, had a record number of entrants this year. However, Annie Duke and other top female players consider the women-only tournament inappropriate. Duke has won over $3m and is a member of the Ultimate Bet team. She is now in the money at the as yet unfinished $3,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em game and could well make the final table.
Another finalist is Vanessa Selbst, one of eight players left in the $5,000 heads up No Limit Hold ‘Em event (31), where she eliminated Doyle Brunson in just a few hands. Selbst, studied at MIT and Yale, where she said there are better poker games, has had 3 WSOP money- finishes. Female players are doing particularly well in the heads up game; Carmel Petresco, tipped by Wicked Chops to be poker’s next big thing, finished 12th and Jennifer Tilly, aka The ‘Unabombshell’ was also in the money. The 49 year old actress, who was last year’s Ladies Event winner, is shifting her professional interest away from acting and into poker.
Cyndy Violette came 25th in the $2,000 7 card stud freeze out. Previously a blackjack dealer, Violette has made over $1m since becoming a professional poker player. Another woman to have topped $1m in winnings is Mimi Tran. She is best known for her skill in high-stakes cash games. Mother of five, Beth Shak will pleased and disappointed with her second place in event 28, the $3,000 No Limit Hold ‘Em, as it is her stated ambition is to win a WSOP bracelet.
Katja Thater has won the $1,500 Razz event at the World Series of Poker (event 29) taking home $132,653. She is the first woman to win a WSOP bracelet since 2004, when Cindy Violette, Kathy Liebert and Anny Duke all finished ‘in the jewellery’. Thater saw off several top-flight rivals including Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen. The 40-year-old German woman is one of Europe’s top players, but this is her first WSOP win.