The Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) Tour has been at the forefront of the drive for more women to come to the game of poker. This last week and into the weekend, the LIPS Tour has been in action at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas. Up first was a unique team competition, which gathered players from across the country representing their regions. This weekend will conclude with the LIPS Tour Nevada State Ladies’ Poker Championship, which will feature a notable name that is trying to take her third-ever NSLPC title.
Team Poker Battle Enjoyed by All
First up for the ladies was the U. S. Ladies’ Team Poker Championship, which took regional combatants and put them on the felt for themselves and their teams. In this freezeout tournament, the players who cashed in the tournament earned points toward their team totals. Once the tournament concluded, the points were totaled up and the team champion was declared.
275 women came to the tables to represent their teams and 36 of those players in the $100 buy-in tournament would take a bit of cash for their efforts. The tournament itself, while highly competitive, saw a level of support from the women involved for each other (even opposing team players) that you usually do not see in a tournament poker setting. In the end, the Portland Punters’ Angela Jordison was denied the individual championship while the Royal Crappers’ Julie Lang walked off with the first-place trophy and the $5493 prize.
1. Julie Lang (Royal Crappers), $5493
2. Angela Jordison (Portland Punters), $3850
3. Donna Houle (The 420’s), $2599
4. Jen Bernard (Portland Punters), $2090
5. JJ Liu (Southern Poker Pistols), $1705
6. Kristen Deardorff (The Stackers), $1375
7. Linda Johnson (Vegas Divas), $1073
8. Gigi Santiago (Diamond Dolls), $866
9. Patty Pfeil (East Meets West), $688
In the team competition, the Portland Punters needed every bit of the work that Bernard and Jordison did at the final table to pull out the championship. That duo accounted for 155 of the 157 points that the Punters garnered from the battle, enabling them to sweep past Deardorff and The Stackers to take the Team Championship. While no team had all five players earn points (cash) in the tournament, four teams had four ladies who earned points– the Diamond Dolls, the Sin City Aces, Love Cats and Stacks, and the Pahrump Divas.
Here are the final standings for the LIPS Tour Team Championship:
1. Portland Punters, 157
2. The Stackers, 105
3. Royal Crappers, 100
4. The 420’s, 95
5. East Meets West, 85
6. Diamond Dolls, 82
7. Ladies’ Choice, 80
8. Southern Poker Pistols, 69
9. Pahrump Divas, 62
10. Vegas Divas, 60
Nevada State Ladies’ Poker Championship Underway
Now the ladies can get back to the individual pursuit of something that has become a major event in the women’s poker world – the Nevada State Ladies’ Poker Championship.
The tournament has become a rallying point for women in the world of poker, a place where the competition is important but also the camaraderie. Back to defend the championship is the only two-time winner of the event, Ruth ‘Ruthless’ Hall, who is a combatant in the game of life and poker. Hall, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of female involvement in the game of poker, is the defending champion of the tournament who also won the tournament in 2019.
But Hall has also been battling on another front. A cancer survivor, Hall also recently experienced a bout with congestive heart failure. What would have killed most people was caught in time for Hall to receive treatment, make a recovery, and ensure that she is on the felt to defend her championship at South Point.
The LIPS Tour continues to demonstrate that not only can women play the game of poker, but they can also play at a high level while having a great deal of fun at the same time. Keep up with the weekend’s festivities on the LIPS Tour Facebook page and see if Hall can repeat as the winner of the Nevada State Ladies’ Poker Championship.
