2009 World Series of Poker

Event 17 - $1,000 Ladies World Championship
Day: 1
Event Info

2009 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q8
Prize
$195,390
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,000
Entries
1,060
Level Info
Level
23
Blinds
12,000 / 24,000
Ante
3,000

Finally, a Little Lady Luck!

Over the next three days, our bloggers and field reporters will be relieved of the stench that comes with every male-dominated tournament field, as the women of poker take to the felt for the 2009 WSOP Ladies World Championship.

Last year's event drew 1,190 of the world's finest female poker players, creating a prize pool of over one million dollars. Svetlana Gromenkova tore through the field en route to claiming the biggest piece of the pie, earning $224,702 and a shiny WSOP gold bracelet.

Tournament organizers expect a similar-sized crowd this year, when the event kicks off at 12:00 noon later today.

Will this year's "we're in the money" shriek be louder than last's? Keep it locked right here at PokerNews.com to find out!

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/25

Ante: 0

On the Move Early

The tournament staff has opted to relocate all of the tables that started in the Miranda Room to the Amazon Room so that the entire field is sharing the same space. 10 minutes have been added to the clock for the ladies who were forced to move before being dealt their first hand.

The mood is vibrant and upbeat, and the room smells like the cosmetics department at Macys.

Familiar Faces

Our reporters spotted the following notables on their initial walk-through:

Shirley Williams (David Williams' mother)
Nancy Todd Tyner
Maureen Feduniak
Liv Boeree
Wooka Kim
Janet Lee
Evelyn Ng
Maria Ho
Lacie Jones
Kristy Gazes
Tiffany Michele
Marsha Waggoner
PokerNews representatives Haley Hintze and Melissa Castello
PokerRoad's Amanda Leatherman
J.J. Liu
Svetlana Gromenkova

Great Start For Gromenkova

Reigning champion Svetlana Gromenkova is off to a great start in today's tournament after sending an opponent to the rail.

With all the money going in on a Queen-high flop, her opponent held a set of Queens to her pocket aces.

However an ace on the turn would put Gromenkova into the lead and see her eliminate an opponent while climbing to 6,300 in chips.

Tags: Svetlana Gromenkova

Gazes Gone Early

Kristy Gazes became one of the first casualties of the day after her aces were cracked by an opponent's {K-?}{J-?}. Raises were traded before the flop came {J-?}{J-?}{6-?}. The action went check, bet (Gazes), check-raise all in, call (Gazes) and the rest was history.

Tags: Kristy Gazes

Maria Ho Chipping Up

Catching the action on a flop of {K-Hearts}{2-Hearts}{7-Diamonds} Maria Ho checked to her opponent on the button, only to be faced with a 125-chip bet.

Ho then check-raised to 325 with her opponent making the call. The turn landed the {9-Hearts} and a bet of 475 was enough to prompt a fold from her opponent as Ho moves to 3,900 in chips.

Tags: Maria Ho

Wroblewski Building

The late start to her tournament hasn't bothered Anna Wroblewski at all!

We found her involved in a pot on a board of {7-Spades}{J-Hearts}{8-Spades} where her 300-chip bet was called by a player from middle position.

When the turn fell the {5-Diamonds} Wroblewski continued her aggression by making it 500 to go, which was enough to see her opponent's cards go flying into the muck.

As the pot was pushed to Wroblewski she stacked her chips up to amount to a healthy 5,800.

Tags: Anna Wroblewski