On Sunday, 1,060 of poker’s top female pros took to the felts for the $1,000 buy-in Ladies’ No Limit Hold’em World Championship as part of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Two days later, Lisa Hamilton emerged as its champion.
Hamilton recorded her first WSOP cash by taking home a bracelet and $195,000 first place prize. She is traditionally a high-stakes cash game player and can be found succeeding in stakes up to $50-$100. After a lackluster experience in a previous WSOP event that saw her bust early on, Hamilton swore off tournaments forever. Nevertheless, she told WSOP officials after the event concluded that she decided to enter anyway: “I entered at the last minute. I kept telling my friend, ‘I’m not playing! I am not playing in this event!’ I decided to play and I don’t even know how I made it this far. I’m shocked!”
The final table featured no former bracelet winners, the seventh time in 18 completed events of the 2009 WSOP that this has occurred. Lisa Santy was ousted from the feature table in ninth place for $15,973 when her A-Q of hearts ran into Kim Rios’ pocket aces. The flop came Q-J-9, all spades, giving Santy top pair. Another spade on the turn raised the possibility of a chopped pot (neither player held a spade), but the eight of hearts on the river sent Santy packing. Dawn Thomas was bumped in eighth place when her pocket tens ran into Lori Bender’s pocket kings. The board ran out A-7-4-9-5, ensuring the Houston police officer’s bracelet hopes would be cuffed.
Lisa Parsons hit the skids in seventh place. She check-raised Rios all-in after a flop of 3-9-7 with pocket threes for bottom set. Rios called, turning up J-9. While Parsons was in a prime position to double up, the turn came a seven, pairing the board, and the river fell a nine, giving Rios a better full house. Rios became the chip leader after the hand with a stack of nearly one million and Parsons earned $22,880 for her troubles. However, Rios was the next to go, shoving over the top a raise by Hamilton after a flop of K-8-4. Hamilton showed pocket fours for bottom set, while Rios revealed K-J for top pair. A five on the turn stunted any chance of Rios winning the hand and she cashed for $29,121.
Shortly after Rios’ departure, Kimberly Cunningham was sent to the rails in fifth place for $38,719. She was severely short-stacked, but woke up with pocket sixes and shoved. Angel Pedroza, who was in the big blind, made the call with 10-7 and the two were off to the races. The flop fell K-10-9, propelling Pedroza out in front. Needing to catch running cards for a straight or one of the two remaining sixes in the deck, Cunningham watched as the turn came a three and the river came a king.
Pedroza found herself all-in pre-flop with 3-5 against Mari Lou Morelli’s A-10. The flop came 3-A-2, giving both players a piece of the action. A seven fell on the turn, leaving Pedroza needing to catch a three, four, or five to stay alive. However, another ace hit the river, improving Morelli to trips and busting Pedroza, who earned $53,940 for her fourth place finish. It was the California bartender’s first WSOP cash.
Morelli was eliminated in third place for $78,132, pushing over the top of a raise by Bender after a flop of 8-K-10. Bender flashed 8-9 for bottom pair and Morelli showed Q-10 for middle pair. A seven on the turn gave Bender a straight draw. The river was a nine, improving Bender to two pair and giving her much-needed chips entering heads-up play against Hamilton. The battle between Bender and Hamilton lasted all of 10 minutes. Bender pushed on a board of J-3-8-4 with two spades, once again holding 9-8. Hamilton called with Q-8 of spades and the river was a harmless ace of hearts. Bender banked $120,575 for her runner-up showing. Hamilton’s win was worth $195,390.
WSOP bracelet winner Susie Isaacs finished in 84th place and has now cashed nine times in this event, the most of any player. The Ladies’ Championship has been played for 32 straight years and switched from Stud to Hold’em in 2001. Attendance was down slightly in this event in 2009, as 1,190 runners took to the felts last year in a tournament won by Svetlana Gromenkova, a drop of 11%.
