Women's Poker Spotlight: Four Inductees for the Women's Poker Hall of Fame
Plans and preparations continue for the early February induction of the four charter members of the Women's Poker Hall of Fame. The first four ladies to be inducted are Linda Johnson, Susie Isaacs, Barbara Enright and Marsha Waggoner. Let's take a look at these ladies' long and distinguished careers.
Linda Johnson has become an icon in poker over the past six years as the recognizable floor announcer on the popular and long-running World Poker Tour broadcasts. Known as the 'First Lady of Poker', Linda earned her first WSOP bracelet in 1997. She is presently ranked 41st on the women's all-time earnings list with over $279,000. In a poker career spanning over 28 years, Linda has accomplished many goals.
As one of the driving forces in making the WPT a reality, Linda continues to look for other business challenges within the poker industry. In her former role as the owner of CardPlayer Magazine, Linda catapulted poker news into the mainstream of magazine publishing. While involved with the magazine business, Linda discovered poker cruises and fell in love with the idea. The dream became a reality when she went into partnership with Jan Fisher and Mark Tenner to start the 'CardPlayer Cruises' business that flourishes today.
Further poker exploits included Linda becoming a founder and board member of the Tournament Directors Association, which now has over 200 prominent members. Many poker rooms enforce the guidelines set forth by the TDA. Johnson's devotion and determination that women's poker be recognized and supported has motivated her to participate in WPT Boot Camps, charity events and women's-poker seminars and classes. Always a force for poker's promotion, Linda also actively supports the Poker Players Alliance and the World Poker Association.
Susie Isaacs first gained fame at the 1996 WSOP when she won the bracelet in the Ladies stud event. Isaacs made WSOP history by winning back-to-back bracelets in the event when she repeated the feat in the 1997 WSOP. With a distinguished career of wins and cashes spanning 20 years of poker, Susie is ranked 31st on the women's all-time money list with lifetime earnings over $345,000. Susie has gone on to more success as a writer as well. In addition to several books, she has also written countless articles on poker for CardPlayer, PokerPlayer and PokerPages Online.
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Besides her poker talents, Susie has a flair for designing jewelry, and out of that was born her own firm, Susie Isaacs Designer Gaming Jewelry. Still very active in poker, she plays when she's not promoting her sponsor, Ujogo, or teaching poker to eager students in desirable settings, such as a cruise ship or an Arizona spa. You can follow Susie's poker exploits at susieisaacs.com.
Barbara Enright, simply put, is a legend in poker. She's most famously known as the first woman to reach a final table in the WSOP Main Event in 1995, where she took fifth place. Her lifetime earnings exceed $1.2 million, which currently ranks her eighth on the women's all-time money list. It's no wonder this lady is at the top of the game. Barbara's poker accomplishments are so long we cannot list them all here, but several worthy mentions are listed below:
Winner, 1986 WSOP Bracelet Ladies Stud Event
Winner, 1994 WSOP Bracelet Ladies Stud Event
Fifth place, 1995 WSOP Main Event – (first woman to make ME final table)
Winner 1996 WSOP Pot-Limit Hold'em
Barbara's career spans over 30 years. Among her most recent achievements, she was the first (and, to date, the only) woman to ever be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Barbara also has been involved in the business side of poker. An accomplished and published author, she has written numerous articles on poker and most recently acted as editor for Woman Poker Player Magazine. Barbara is married to another renowned poker player/writer, Max Shapiro.
The fourth inductee in the Women's Poker Hall of Fame inaugural class is Marsha Waggoner. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Marsha has been playing poker for over 20 years. While a WSOP bracelet has eluded her to date, she has a very remarkable record of wins and cashes. Presently ranked 13th on the all-time women's money list with an impressive $801,000 in lifetime earnings, she certainly has cemented her place in poker history. Marsha has cashed 19 times over the years in the WSOP and five times in the WPT, and is known as the 'Grand Dame of Poker'. Most recently, she appeared on television in a PPT heads-up match against Tom McEvoy. Marsha is a member of the Seniors World Championship of Poker/Poker Players Hall of Fame. She's an executive host for Hollywood Park Casino in California and enjoys being married to fellow poker professional Kenna James. The enterprising couple was the first to travel to Moscow, Russia and organize a poker tournament, along with organizing the Operation Helping Hand charity tournament to aid fallen soldiers and their families. Marsha is a tireless advocate for poker, supporting women's groups, charities, seminars, poker camps and many other poker-related projects.
