Tuesday night was a historic night at the 2013 World Series of Poker as Dana Castaneda became one of the few women in the 44 years of the Series to win a bracelet in an open event. She triumphed in Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em, beating 2,882 foes and earning $454,207.
Castenda joins a who’s who list of women who have won an open event since the poker boom of 2004 (post-Moneymaker): Kathy Liebert, Annie Duke, Cyndy Violette, Katja Thater, Annette Obrestad, and Vanessa Selbst. Selbst was the last to do it, accomplishing the feat last year, the second bracelet of her career. Of course, there are cynics who will say that it’s not a big deal that a woman won. They couldn’t be more wrong. Poker has been a boys club for as long as it’s been in existence; to see a woman sit everyone down, even if it’s just for a day, is great. And besides, women make up only a tiny percentage of the entrants in each tournament (except for the Ladies Event), so the odds that were beaten here are impressive in and of themselves.
In an interview with WSOP officials after the tournament, Castenda talked about whether or not being a female winner of an open event gave her “some extra pride,” saying, “Yeah, it does. I kept setting small goals every day. I just wanted to make it to the next break. Then, I just wanted to make it to dinner. I kept doing that until I got here. And then I came in with the short stack and I was sure I was going to be the first to go out. So, this is surreal to have won it.”
The win was bittersweet for Castenda, as she lost one of her biggest fans, her grandmother, last week. “A week ago Sunday, I was visiting my grandmother. She was on her deathbed. I told her, ‘Hey Gram, I’m going to play in the World Series of Poker.’ She told me I was going to win it.”
The two women had not just a familial bond, but a bond over poker, as well. As Castenda told it, “My grandmother was 94-years-old. She came to visit me in California one time….we went to the casino and bought into a $2-4 game together. I sat her down. She hit a straight flush. She didn’t know what was going on. It was great. She won the high hand of the hour and got a jacket. So, that was our thing. Poker was our thing.”
Castenda is familiar with the casino environment, as she works at the Morongo Casino in California. Her plan is to go into work wearing her new gold bracelet. “They are going to be absolutely floored,” she said after her victory.
The World Series of Poker’s newest champ seems pretty floored, too.
2013 World Series of Poker – Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
1. Dana Castenda – $454,207
2. Jason Bigelow – $281,991
3. Matthias Bednarek – $198,883
4. Michael Zucchet – $143,642
5. Philippe Clerc – $105,007
6. Barry Hutter – $77,685
7. Jacob Bazeley – $58,147
8. Joseph Wertz – $44,032
9. Kenneth Gregersen – $33,731
