2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame Induction by Linda Johnson

I’ve been traveling constantly for the past six weeks. First, I went on an exploratory two-week cruise on the biggest ship in the world. Next, I hosted a week-long poker tournament at the Eureka Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. After stopping home overnight to watch some TIVO and do laundry, I flew to Indianapolis for one of my favorite charity events, the annual benefit for Mickey’s Camp (Mickeyscamp.com), to teach poker and run two poker tournaments.

When camp was over, I actually got to spend two days at home before leaving for the Card Player Cruises Alaska poker trip. I got back from the Alaska cruise just three hours prior to the start of the third annual Women in Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will be the focus of this blog.

The voters did a great job with the choice of inductees for the 2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame class: Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, and Billie Brown. The Golden Nugget was the venue for year three and they did it right! The tournament pavilion was transformed into a supper club/bistro environment through the hard work of the committee spearheaded by Suzie Lederer and Suzanne Carter along with some awesome volunteers.

Lupe Soto, creator of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame and founder of the Ladies International Poker Series, brought in NASA special events coordinator Gyla Whitlow to produce the induction ceremony. Gyla composed an amazing video montage that played throughout the evening featuring the history in pictures of each of the present and past inductees.

Throughout the evening, there was a silent auction to benefit Poker Gives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started by Mike Sexton, Jan Fisher, Lisa Tenner, and me as a way for poker players to give back to charity. The evening’s emcee was Jan, who should consider becoming a standup comedian. She did an amazing job of keeping everyone on schedule and coming up with some very funny adlibbed lines. After opening the evening, Jan brought Lupe up to the stage to thank the event sponsors: Lord Griffon Jewelry, Full Tilt Poker, Ocean’s 11 Casino, the Golden Nugget, GreasieWheels.com, and Legacy Alliance.

The keynote speaker was Jeffrey Pollack, the former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Commissioner who now serves as the Executive Chairman of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and a member of its Board of Directors. He spoke about the similarities between the PBR and the poker world and the importance of women’s-only events in poker. Next, the WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla took the stage and gave an impassioned speech about the WSOP’s commitment to women in poker. He reminded us of its history with the Ladies Event and assured the crowd that the Ladies Event shall remain a prominent part of their schedule going forward.

The ceremony began with Helen Hartley, marketing director at Oceans 11 Casino, and Bob Moyer, managing partner of Oceans 11, paying tribute to the first inductee, Billie Brown. Many of today’s players have never heard of Billie Brown since she passed away in 2004, but her contributions to poker live on.

She was an innovator and created exciting tournaments and promotions that changed the face of poker. In the early 80s, Billie was the first person to create a guaranteed purse in a major poker tournament. She committed a major casino, the Riviera Hotel, to be the tournament venue. The “Draw for the Gold Tournament” guaranteed $350,000 in its first year. The second and third years guaranteed $450,000 and the fourth year had the first $1,000,000 guarantee. That promotion built a player base of 2,500, which was unheard of in those days.

She liked being a host and started a business of bringing players from New York and Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Other poker-related work included creating promotions with Commerce Casino, including “Play for the Gold,” and working with several of the Indian casinos in San Diego assisting them in building their poker rooms and Asian games.

She served as the marketing director for Ocean’s 11 Casino during the last decade of her life. It was there that she created and hosted the beloved California State Ladies Poker Championship, an event that still draws women from all over the country. Billie always made sure that the ladies had a good time and that everything was perfect for them, from the gifts she personally chose and meticulously wrapped to the banquet decorations and the entertainment. Her tournament wasn’t just about poker; it was an opportunity for women in the industry to bond.

I had the good fortune of being Billie’s friend for 25 years and am pleased to see her get recognition for her achievements in poker. Her daughter, Kelley O’Hara, who is the marketing director for the Bicycle Casino, gave an eloquent acceptance speech on Billie’s behalf.

Next, Jan Fisher introduced Jennifer Harman and talked about her many poker achievements, including winning two gold bracelets in open events at the WSOP. Jennifer has more than $2.2 million in career tournament winnings and plays in the highest limit cash games in the world. She also wrote the Limit Hold’em section in “Super System 2.” Jennifer took the stage and graciously congratulated Kathy Liebert on her induction and thanked everyone for attending the ceremony.

Last but not least, Fisher introduced Kathy Liebert to the crowd. Kathy has more than $5.7 million in career tournament winnings and a gold WSOP bracelet. She was the first person to win a $1,000,000 guaranteed first place prize tournament and ranks in the top 40 in winnings among all poker players. She has played in 100 WPT events and made a WPT final table six times.

Kathy gave a great speech and told us about how she had been a business executive with Dun and Bradstreet and decided that she would not be happy in the business world, so she moved to Colorado and took a job as a prop and played $5 Limit poker while she perfected her skills. She also talked about how she likes seeing more women at the poker tables in these times than ever in the past.

Congratulation Kathy, Jennifer, and Billie! You are all deserving members of the prestigious Women in Poker Hall of Fame. The evening ended with a dance, which meant that I was the last one to leave and turn out the lights.