The elegant Venetian Las Vegas was the host on Sunday, June 22, for the first-ever Women Worldwide Poker Sequence (LIPS) $2,500 No-Restrict Maintain’em Women Excessive Curler 100K Assured. Cardplayer Life-style was on website to catch all of the motion in collaboration with the Ladies’s Poker Affiliation.
The Inaugural LIPS Ladies in Poker Excessive Curler launches at the moment! @VenetianPoker at Midday – $2,500 NLHE $100,000 Assure! We couldn’t be extra excited and are wanting ahead to seeing you for this historic @LIPS_Tour occasion! @WomenInPoker #womeninpoker #lipstour #wiphighroller pic.twitter.com/nKAoK4dQBj
— ♠️♥ LIPS Tour ♦️♣️ (@LIPS_Tour) June 22, 2025
The match featured a player-friendly construction, with every entrant beginning with 50,000 in chips and blind ranges set at 50 minutes. Motion kicked off at 12:10 p.m., with late registration open till 9:20 p.m. The prize pool assure was shortly surpassed, already eclipsed by the top of Stage 2. A complete of 117 gamers entered the sector, creating a powerful prize pool of $257,400. The winner will take residence $67,846, whereas the highest 15 finishers are assured a minimal payout of $5,474. Day 1 concluded on the finish of Stage 12, with the remaining gamers set to return for Day 2 at midday.
Within the lead-up to the occasion, the Venetian additionally hosted two $300 satellite tv for pc tournaments, which collectively awarded 17 seats into the Excessive Curler.
The Venetian has had a really cohesive relationship with LIPS for over 10 years, and the personnel and administration on the Venetian proactively labored very exhausting to accommodate the beautiful girls, together with adjusting the break instances from 10 minutes to fifteen minutes to accommodate the ladies’s requests.
This match attracted extra notable gamers than may be totally listed, however a number of acquainted faces stood out on the felt. Amongst them had been actress Beth Grant and poker legend Kathy Liebert, who has an astounding 106 WSOP cashes totaling $1.4 million. Cecile Ticherfatine from France, with over $1 million in profession earnings, additionally joined the motion. Dusti Smith, driving excessive after her second-place end within the WSOP $2,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em occasion and a latest win within the Wynn’s $3,000 Women Excessive Curler, introduced severe momentum to the desk.
Lupe Soto, founding father of LIPS, was ecstatic with the variety of entries on this high-stakes occasion. The group has been discussing internet hosting a few of these higher-stakes video games for a very long time, so she was delighted that the turnout was so excessive. Lupe acknowledged at one level in the course of the registration interval, “If we are able to get to 100 folks, I shall be over thrilled.” The 100-player mark hit with three hours left on registration, and the high-fives had been rampant.
Video courtesy: Ladies Poker Information
Additionally noticed had been poker powerhouses Ruth “Ruthless” Corridor, winner of the 2023 Women Malta Occasion Chris Learn, PokerNews podcaster Kyna England, poker persona Marle Spragg, and Rachel Usack, who had simply claimed victory on the Orleans Women Championship.
Skilled poker participant and award-winning broadcaster Jamie Kerstetter, recognized for her sharp wit and interesting presence, has formally partnered with Venetian Poker because the venue’s Ladies’s Poker Ambassador. Jamie was on-site not solely to compete, but in addition to welcome and assist the numerous proficient girls collaborating on this occasion.
As a part of her ambassador position, Jamie will host a particular Meet-Up Sport (MUG) on Tuesday, June twenty fourth, at 9:00 a.m. on the Venetian. Two seats shall be awarded in the course of the MUG for the $600 No-Restrict Maintain’em LIPS Women $75K GTD occasion, which begins later that day at 12:10 p.m.
Women – Be part of us June 24 at 9am as @JamieKerstetter hosts a low stakes $1-3 NLH Meet Up Sport @VenetianPoker
Two (2) $600 LIPS Women entries shall be randomly awarded with at the least two (2) hours of play in the course of the MUG
Enroll through @PokerAtlas app or by calling 702-414-7657 pic.twitter.com/eHlKlvfdwz
— Tommy LaRosa (@VenetianTD) June 18, 2025
Talking about her partnership with The Venetian, Jamie shared, “The Venetian has been doing lots to assist girls in poker, and it’s a part of the rationale girls confirmed up in droves to smash this 100K assure.”
WPA Participant of the Day: Bonnie Weitzel
The participant of the day is dropped at you by the Ladies’s Poker Affiliation’s sponsor, Maria Ho, Advocate for Ladies in Poker, Skilled Poker Participant, Commentator, and Ladies in Poker Corridor of Fame Inductee.
When requested why it was necessary to sponsor this sequence of girls’s occasions, Maria responded, “I’m proud to assist the WPA and all organizations that assist convey extra girls into poker. It’s a aim that the neighborhood as an entire ought to try for. It’s paramount to create a snug setting for all gamers to get pleasure from and thrive on this sport we love a lot.”
Try Maria’s latest TEDx Discuss right here: https://youtu.be/H-0agRnaClE
Bonnie Weitzel: A Comeback Story Rooted in Ardour, Resilience, and Poker
Bonnie Weitzel has been taking part in poker casually together with her household for many of her life, nevertheless it wasn’t till 2012 that she started taking the sport severely. That turning level got here when her husband, Lonny Weitzel, recommended, “Let’s go play some poker.” On the time, neither had a lot expertise with real-money video games, however that didn’t cease them from discovering early success. They took a spontaneous journey to a girls’ occasion in Shreveport, Louisiana, the place Bonnie received the match, and Lonny completed second in a concurrent World Sequence of Poker (WSOP) occasion. It marked the start of their shared journey on the tables and the primary of many memorable poker adventures.
One in all Bonnie’s most cherished victories got here final spring, when she captured the title within the $300 No-Restrict Maintain’em Women Ring Occasion on the WSOP Circuit in Tunica, Mississippi. The journey itself was a last-minute determination, made together with her shut good friend Stephanie Miller. “Let’s go down and win a hoop,” Bonnie stated on a whim, and simply 4 hours later, that’s exactly what she did. Operating on solely three hours of sleep, they returned residence victorious. Within the winner’s photograph, Bonnie is holding her beloved canine, who was almost 18 years outdated on the time of the photograph. That photograph has since turn out to be a treasured souvenir, as her furry companion handed away shortly after.
Bonnie Weitzel, EV11 Women Winner | Picture courtesy Poker.org
Bonnie has additionally earned a status as a satellite tv for pc match ace. On one latest day, she received two tickets in two completely different venues. First, she secured a seat within the $360 LIPS Nationwide Championship in a satellite tv for pc at South Level. Then she rushed to the Venetian, registered late for an additional satellite tv for pc, and received that one, too.
She credit a lot of her latest success to her longtime good friend and poker coach, Ruth Corridor. After taking one in every of Ruth’s programs, Bonnie put the information to fast use. That very day, she entered a match in Shreveport and received it decisively.
However Bonnie’s poker journey hasn’t been with out its trials. She was compelled to overlook final yr’s Ladies’s Poker Week as a consequence of a harrowing airplane incident that led to a year-long hospital keep. Her husband, Lonny, a seasoned pilot, was flying them to Los Angeles with their son on board. As her son sat up entrance, Bonnie took the again seat, secured by a seatbelt that proved tragically insufficient when the aircraft encountered excessive turbulence. Bonnie, who’s petite, was violently thrown across the cabin. Although she remained acutely aware, she suffered a number of extreme accidents: a damaged again, fractured sternum, and 6 damaged ribs. The aircraft made an emergency touchdown in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the place she started a protracted and painful restoration, together with spinal surgical procedure involving metallic plates and screws.
All through her ordeal, Bonnie was buoyed by the unshakable assist of her poker neighborhood. Her associates flooded her hospital room with flowers, updates from the poker site, and messages of encouragement. One pricey good friend, Jacqueline Pennington, visited usually, providing foot massages and emotional assist, care that solely true associates present.
Bonnie’s return to the tables is nothing in need of outstanding. Her endurance, dedication, and resilience have carried her by means of a grueling restoration and again into the sport she loves. Sitting for lengthy hours on the felt, particularly after such trauma, is a feat in itself. Her opponents describe her as unreadable, a top quality that continues to serve her effectively.
Bonnie could have missed out final yr, however this yr she’s again, with function, with ardour, and with one mission in thoughts: to win.
2025 Venetian $2500 Women Excessive Curler: Prize Pool Particulars
RankPrizeRankPrize1$67,84610$5,8382$43,25111$5,8383$28,69712$5,7474$19,84913$5,7475$14,33814$5,4746$10,83915$5,4747$8,59216$5,4748$7,16017$5,4749$6,28818$5,474
Heading into Day 2 tomorrow, Lisa Schuessler will begin out because the chip chief, with Jacqueline Burkhart shut behind and Jamie Kerstetter pulling up in third place. Thirty-nine hopefuls stay as we head into Day 2.
2025 Ladies’s Poker Week: What’s Subsequent?
Monday, June twenty third is the $600 NLH at Wynn Las Vegas at 11:00 a.m.Tuesday, June twenty fourth is Venetian’s 9 a.m. MUG with Jamie Kerstetter, to be adopted by the $600 NLH LIPS Women $75K at 12:10pmTuesday, June twenty fourth at 2:00 p.m. at Westgate Las Vegas, $150 Women Omaha8Tuesday, June twenty fourth at 6:00 p.m. at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, $150 Women Heat-up Event
You’ll want to maintain checking again with us right here at Cardplayer Life-style as we proceed to report on the highlights of this thrilling week.
