Kelly Jo McGlothlin, who cashed was only one of two women to finish in the top 100 at this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) No-limit Hold'em Main Event, has said in an interview that she only decided to pursue a poker career three years ago.
Speaking to PokerAllstar.com, Kelly Jo, who came in 95th, also said that she would like to see more women entering poker tournaments, as along with Maria Ho, she was the only female to finish in the top 100.
After various roles as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer cheerleader, and a 911 dispatcher for the Pasadena police, she decided to follow in the footsteps of her father, James M McGlothlin, who also tried his hand at the WSOP.
Kelly Jo told Poker Allstar: "My mother and father started teaching me, mainly so I could try to 'hold my own' in home games. I really didn't think of actually pursuing poker professionally until a few years ago.
"I mainly only get to play in local tournaments once a week, or maybe once every couple of weeks, and it's not that I thought I was ready to play in the WSOP, I just always wanted to give the main event a try."
Of the female attendance at the WSOP, she mused: "I did think that maybe there would be a couple more women still playing, but just the fact that the percentage of women in the main event is so low, I still think it was great that at least two of us were still in it."
Kelly Jo McGlothlin, who cashed was only one of two women to finish in the top 100 at this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) No-limit Hold'em Main Event, has said in an interview that she only decided to pursue a poker career three years ago.