Poker Hall of Famer Jennifer Harman has seen the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in all of its iterations. Harman won two bracelets when the World Series played at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas and made several final tables after the transition to Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in the mid-2000s.
Now, 27 years after her first WSOP final table in 1996, Harman finds herself at yet another World Series rendition at the rebranded Horseshoe Casino on the Strip. And while the golden U-shaped emblem outside the hotel is by and large the same, Harman said the modern venue doesn't compare to the WSOP's original home.
"It was such a cool atmosphere playing at Binion's; it's just nothing like that," Harman told PokerNews. "Now it's just like, you know, poker blew up and it's more ... it's still a really cool atmosphere, but it's just different. It's not a small room, musty, that kind of stuff. But it's still really cool. Poker's still really popular, so that's a pretty awesome thing."
PokerNews caught up with Harman last week as she played Day 1 of Event #25: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship at the 2023 WSOP to ask about her summer schedule, pick for the Poker Hall of Fame and her memories with the late Doyle Brunson.
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Harman became known by poker fans around the world through her High Stakes Poker appearances, including on the first episode that aired in 2006.
By then a two-time bracelet winner and a feared member of "The Corporation" who had battled with billionaire Andy Beal, millions of viewers saw Harman in a black leather jacket as she competed against other poker greats including Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest and the late Brunson.
The Poker Godfather's passing in May was felt by the entire poker community, and Harman, who after his death said Brunson was "more of a father" than a poker player to her, felt it especially hard.
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"It was freaking tough," she said. "You know, he's a true legend of poker. And it's amazing that he was able to play poker throughout his entire life, and he probably saw every era in poker except for maybe when Wild Bill Hickok got killed. But I think that he saw people killed at the tables, that kind of stuff all the way into poker being respectful and a great profession. He had a lot of stories and he put a lot down in his autobiography, so at least that's out there to remember him by. So that's pretty special."
As someone with her own memories of Brunson, Harman said she will always remember the poker legend for his soft side.
"When we were at the poker table we were fierce competitors; when we weren't, he was like a marshmallow puppy dog to me," Harman said. "Hugs from Doyle were amazing."
When PokerNews spoke with Harman, she was on break toward the end of the night in Day 1 of the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, her first event of the series, and "just trying to win pots and stay alive."
Even Harman's opponents were excited to see the two-time bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer at the table. At one point, the player next to her asked for a photo before leaning over to take a selfie.
"I don't know why (people are excited)," she said humbly. "I'm just a poker player."
Jen Harman
In addition to playing select WSOP events, Harman, who noted that she has been busy "raising a family," will also be playing high-stakes cash games throughout the summer.
"I won't be in Bobby's Room because it's $3,000/$6,000 and I don't want my kids to live in a car," Harman laughed. "It's quite big. But I'm playing cash games at the ARIA (and) Resorts World, just a little bit smaller games where (I can) have a stable home life with my children."
"I'm going to go to high-stakes cash game players, and I'm going to say Ray Dehkharghani," she said. "Because he's really one of the best. And I'm not sure he'll get nominated, but he is one of the best."
Read about other 2023 WSOP Featured Females such as France's Sarah Herzali, who made the deepest run of a woman so far this summer with a third-place finish in Event #15: $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em for $207,720.
Connor Richards is a Senior Editor U.S. for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for three Global Poker Awards for his writing.
