Step aside, gentlemen. The WSOP spotlight shifts to the ladies today as the $1,000 Ladies Championship takes center stage.
Since its debut in 1977, only four players have captured multiple Ladies Championship titles: Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Nani Dollison, and defending two-time champion Shiina Okamoto.
Lights, cameras... the ladies
Over the next four days, another name will be engraved into poker history at the WSOP. Or perhaps not.
If Okamoto pulls off the nearly impossible three-peat, the Japanese phenom will have established her standing in WSOP lore for years to come. But odds are, we'll see a new champion be crowned this summer.
PokerOrg caught up with WSOP Countdown co-host and master of ceremonies Jeff Platt to find out what fans can expect from this year's live-streaming coverage.
“The Ladies Championship will be presented as our featured event from Day 2 onwards,” says Platt. “We'll provide glimpses of the tournament on Day 1 during our Poker Players Championship final table coverage.
"It’s very important for us to shine a spotlight on one of the premier tournaments of the summer WSOP series.”
The ladies hold nothing back
Ask almost any woman who has competed regularly in ladies events, and they'll tell you the WSOP Ladies Championship has a unique personality all its own.
Lexy-Gavin Mather
For author and poker professional Lexy Gavin-Mather, it starts with something poker tournaments don't always have in abundance: community and a little more fun. Mather has already run deep in a few WSOP events this series, including a seventh-place finish in the recent Salute to Warriors event.
“The top reasons I love this event is the camaraderie that the women share," says Mather. "The community is so supportive: it's fun, it's light, there's talking, socializing, and I just love playing the ladies events.
"The second thing that really excites me about playing the ladies event is that I made the final table back in 2019. I finished sixth, so I'm always looking for redemption in this event.”
Christina Gollins
Christina 'BabyShark' Gollins knows her way around this event, having finished third in 2022 for $73,604. She has a different take from Mather, mostly centered on the sweet aromas in the room as well as the possibility of a few bubbly toasts at the tables.
“I’ll tell you what I like about ladies tournaments," shares Gollins. "I love the fact that everyone has showered. Everyone smells amazing. It's like you walked into a Sephora.
“If you need lotion, If you need a nail file, half the tables got you. And you know, sometimes people pop some champagne here and there, which is always a little bit of a plus. I don't see anybody else popping champagne in any other tournament.”
Hayley Hanna
Hayley Hanna summed up today’s ladies event in her own unforgettable way. It’s clear for Hayley that once the cards are in the air, don't mistake the friendly atmosphere or champagne toasts for soft competition.
“Ladies events have lots of shenanigans,” says Hanna. “It’s basically a completely different style of poker. Something that men won’t understand. It's mixed strategy with women’s intuition.
"I find ladies events more challenging than normal events because you come across a lot more interesting spots. You also have to be luckier in ladies events because women don’t like to fold! You’re going to be flipping for your tournament life a lot more often in these events.”
Jennifer Tilly
Few people have seen the evolution of the WSOP Ladies Championship quite like Jennifer Tilly. She was the 2005 Ladies Champion at her very first WSOP.
The former Academy Award nominee won’t be chasing a second ladies title this summer but will be behind the mic with an old friend for the live streams.
“This year I will be commentating on the Ladies event!” says Tilly. “I’m very excited to be in the booth with Joe Stapleton watching these ladies compete for this prestigious bracelet. When I won this bracelet over 20 years ago, it was one of the greatest moments of my life! It was my first WSOP, and it was a sign to me that all things are possible.”
Tilly shares what it’s like to compete against women as compared to men at the tables.
“The ladies tournament for me is one of the most difficult tournaments to play. Women represent less than 3% of the total field, so it’s not very often that you play at a table with all women.
"Women are harder to play against than men. Women are more intuitive. Men often let you get away with a lot because they underestimate you. That doesn’t happen with women. They have more clarity of vision. They get your number. They’re much harder to bluff.”
Perhaps the biggest change Tilly has witnessed over the last two decades is how many more women now feel they belong.
“It is gratifying to see the game of ladies poker continue to evolve and grow over the years. There is no reason why women cannot play on an even playing field as men. But it can be very intimidating. The Ladies event was the first time I felt I really belonged at the poker table.
"I am very happy to see that the World Series of Poker has been working so hard over the years to make women feel welcome and uphold this great tradition.”
Four days from now, another name (or perhaps the same one yet again) will join one of the WSOP's most exciting bracelet events each summer. Until then, gentlemen, consider yourselves on the rail for all the fun. And if you’re lucky, maybe some champagne will flow your way.
The WSOP Ladies Championship kicks off Thursday at 12pm.
Additional image courtesy of Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
