On Tuesday, June twenty fourth, the Women Worldwide Poker Collection (LIPS) rolled into the Venetian to stage its $600 Women Championship. The occasion carried a assure of $75,000. Earlier than that occasion acquired underway, Jamie Kerstetter hosted a particular Meetup Breakfast Recreation at 9 a.m., the place she would give away two tickets to the $600 occasion.
A random draw decided the winners, and the 2 fortunate women, Rebbecca Scales from Girls Poker Information and Jin O’Grady, had been each ecstatic to play.
Jamie Kerstetter’s MUG on the Venetian
Tommy LaRosa, director of poker operations for The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, had this to say about their ambassador Jamie Kerstetter, “She is very revered within the poker neighborhood, not just for her ability on the desk, but in addition her integrity. We’re proud to accomplice together with her as we proceed to develop the sport, significantly by fostering a stronger, extra inclusive house for ladies in our poker site. Her presence and affect are instrumental in inspiring new gamers and elevating the general expertise.”
When requested about why Girls’s Poker Week is essential for the poker trade, LaRosa responded: “By actively supporting and rising the ladies’s recreation, we’re serving to to create a welcoming atmosphere within the poker site the place everybody appears like they belong.”
$2,500 Venetian Excessive Curler Girls’s Occasion Winner: Tirza Sanders
Light Spade supplied the official taking part in playing cards for the distinguished $2,500 Excessive Curler Girls’s Occasion on the Venetian, which was broadcast stay and performed alongside the $600 NLH LIPS Women Occasion. The vitality within the room was electrical as the ultimate desk unfolded.
The day started with seven proficient girls battling for the title, however it got here right down to an exciting heads-up match between Isabelle Dang of Canada, who earned her entry by a satellite tv for pc, and Arizona’s Tirza Sanders.
Isabelle entered heads-up play with a commanding chip lead, however momentum shifted rapidly. A pivotal flip leveled the stacks, and from that time on, the 2 finalists remained almost even in chips. Their back-and-forth battle lasted over two intense hours, showcasing ability, persistence, and psychological endurance.
The decisive hand got here when Tirza opened with queen-eight offsuit, and Isabelle flat-called with pocket kings. The flop and switch introduced drama: Tirza made two pair on the flip and led out with a wager. Isabelle shoved all-in, and after a calculated pause, Tirza made the decision. Isabelle wanted the board to pair on the river to outlive, however it got here up clean, crowning Tirza Sanders the champion.
Each gamers displayed distinctive ability all through the match, and their ultimate desk efficiency was a testomony to the extent of competitors in at present’s girls’s poker.
Televised Desk OutcomesRankParticipantNationPrize1Tirza SandersTuscon, Arizona$67,8462Isabelle DangMontreal, Canada$43,2513Jacqueline BurkhartBoring, Oregon$28,6974Shamica LamarWellington, Florida$19,8495Lisa SchuesslerDurant, Oklahoma$14,3386Marie KabakiTokyo, Japan$10,8397Monika ZukowiczLas Vegas, Nevada$8,592
Our Participant of the Day part is sponsored by Tom Wheaton, Founder & CEO, Light Spade Taking part in Playing cards & Above the Felt. When requested why they opted to sponsor our Girls’s Poker Week protection, Tom replied, “Poker isn’t nearly playing cards, it’s about neighborhood. We help the WPA as a result of they’re serving to construct a extra balanced and inclusive future for the sport, one the place girls really feel welcome, empowered, and revered at each desk, whether or not taking part in within the poker site or main within the boardroom. That mission aligns with all the pieces we stand for at Light Spade.”
You should definitely go to their web site, at: https://www.fadedspade.com
WPA Participant of the Day: Rebbecca Scales
Rebbecca Scales: Championing Girls in Poker
Girls’s advocate. Mentor. Inspiration. Rebbecca Scales has spent years within the on line casino trade, primarily in advertising, the place she grew annoyed with the shortage of consideration paid to girls. That frustration turned gasoline for change. A couple of decade in the past, she picked up poker and located her calling, not solely in taking part in the sport, however in altering how girls are seen and supported within the poker world.
Rebbecca’s poker journey took a pivotal flip when she met her mentor, Lupe Soto, a trailblazer in girls’s poker. “She took me in,” Rebbecca says warmly. “She’s an excellent mentor, and I can speak to her about something.” With Lupe’s encouragement, Rebbecca joined the board of the Girls’s Poker Affiliation (WPA) and instantly acquired concerned in supporting girls gamers.
Her most seen contribution? Founding Girls Poker Information, a media platform devoted to telling the tales of ladies within the recreation. She has been writing participating and informative articles for a few yr now, offering much-needed visibility to feminine gamers. When requested what impressed her to launch it, Rebbecca replied with a single phrase: “Sexism.”
Las Vegas and the poker world stay closely male-dominated, however organizations just like the WPA and LIPS are working to create a extra equitable taking part in discipline. Rebbecca is very pleased with how native casinos have begun to embrace girls’s occasions. “They lastly have an excellent construction, strong ensures, and are held at cheap occasions,” she explains. “Girls aren’t simply an afterthought anymore.”
Rebbecca’s connection to playing cards dates again to her childhood, when she performed video games together with her grandmother, who referred to them as “taking part in playing cards.” When she took up poker severely about 10 years in the past, it turned greater than only a passion. Dwelling in Las Vegas offers her infinite alternatives to play, significantly combined video games, that are her specialty. She doesn’t adhere to a strict examine routine. “I play on days when it feels good to play,” she says.
However poker has meant greater than tournaments and methods. It’s been a lifeline. “Poker helped me by my divorce, being a single mother, and helped pay the payments,” she shares. Instructing the fundamentals to over 1,000 girls has not solely grown the sport however sharpened her personal abilities by sheer repetition. Her circle of feminine poker comrades additionally gives a robust basis for studying and help.
When requested what she’d prefer to see change within the trade, Rebbecca is evident: “Extra media protection for ladies’s occasions and for ladies in poker basically.”
Speedy-Hearth Q&A with Rebbecca Scales
What drink finest describes your poker recreation? Candy tea.
In case you might host a poker recreation wherever on the earth, the place wouldn’t it be? I really like Vietnam.
What’s one rule you like to interrupt on the desk? Saying the F phrase.
Notable Names and Faces Fill the Fiery Subject
With 302 entries, the Venetian $600 Women Championship occasion prize pool soared to a powerful $152,510. The eventual champion took house a good-looking $30,869, whereas the highest 38 finishers earned a minimal payout of $1,245. Among the many notable gamers within the discipline was Ruth Corridor, who has been on a marathon run of occasions and deep finishes, this time inserting fifteenth. PokerStars Ambassador Jennifer Shahade made a late look and completed 18th. Additionally within the combine was 2023 Girls’s Poker Affiliation Participant of the 12 months, Chris Learn, who secured twenty third place, and Recreation of Gold contestant Olga Iermolcheva, who completed thirtieth.
Venetian $600 Women Championship Last Desk & Outcomes
9 fierce and targeted girls took their seats on the ultimate desk, each prepared for battle. Ying Zhu got here in with the chip lead, recent off a third-place end on the Wynn Women Occasion yesterday. Early on, the desk tried to barter an ICM (Unbiased Chip Mannequin) chop, however no settlement might be reached, so play continued.
The stamina award undoubtedly goes to Jin O’Grady, who (as talked about earlier) received her seat throughout the 9 a.m. Meet-Up Recreation. Remarkably, at 3 a.m., Jin was nonetheless within the combine and holding robust. She secured a vital double-up with ace-nine, spiking journey nines, and quipped, “I’ve 9 lives.”
When the sector was right down to 4 gamers, a second ICM chop dialogue started. At that time, Vanessa Castro had climbed into the chip lead and was awarded the coveted WPA and LIPS trophies, together with a $22,447 money prize. Ying Zhu held second in chips, adopted by Jin O’Grady in third and Christy Whitehurst in fourth.
Vanessa had made it clear she coveted the trophies greater than something, even providing to concede a number of the prize cash to safe the official first-place title. Earlier within the night time, throughout an earlier chop negotiation, Vanessa had been all in and began packing her bag, till she hit a full home on the river. She doubled up once more shortly after, propelling her to the highest of the chip counts and in the end to victory.
Last Desk OutcomesRankParticipantNationPrize1Vanessa CastroSanta, California$22,4472Ying ZhuBelmont, California$19,6783Jin O’GradyNewport, California$19,2834Christy WhitehurstLargo, Florida$18,4585Ann FandozziLas Vegas, Nevada$8,5656Chai Yen ChungCanada$6,5057Andrea QuadrosBrazil$5,0348Lais Lourenco LongoBrazil$3,9709Kami HudsonLas Vegas, Nevada$3,194
4-way chop Venetian $600 WPA Women Occasion
2025 Girls’s Poker Week: Upcoming Occasions:
Wednesday, June 25, 11:00 a.m. Aria $800 Women NLH Thriller BountyThursday, June 26, 10:00 a.m. Paris/Mon Ami Gabi WPA & Pocket Queens Annual WSOP Breakfast (bought out)Thursday, June twenty sixth, midday Horseshoe/Paris $1,000 WSOP Women No Restrict Maintain’em Championship
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