Daphne Turner(credit: World Series of Poker - Official Web Site)
Women in poker are here to stay. We’re breaking barriers and crushing glass ceilings daily. Poker is the great equalizer. All you need to succeed is a lot of skill and an inkling of luck. Women have been making their way at the World Series of Poker for a long time. In 1995, Barbara Enright became the first woman at the WSOP final table. In 2004, Annie Duke became the first female World Series of Poker tournament of champions winner. In 2007 Annette Obrestad became the first Main Event winner by taking down the WSOPE.
In 2008 Daphne Turner, a 39 year old bill collector from Richmond, Texas (Richmond, for those of you who don’t know is close to Houston), became the first woman to win an open event on the World Series of Poker Circuit. An open event is one in which men and women play side by side.
Ironically, Turner wasn’t the only one with the XX chromosomes sitting at the final table. Christy Williams, who sells real estate in Pearland, LA, also made that table. She entered the action with 20,000 chips which was well behind chip leader Turner and her 85k. Unfortunately, Vespagirl, as Williams likes to be called, finished the day in 10th place.
Turner, who has never cashed in a poker tournament before, laid waste to the final table, knocking out her opponents left and right. In the end, she found herself heads-up with David Scarano, a 22 year old resident of Las Vegas. Turner had a commanding chip lead at 10-to-1 and made triple tens on the final hand, sealing her opponent’s fate and taking her place in WSOP history.
These are the final results:
1) Daphne Turner (Richmond, TX) - $34,920
2) David Scarano (Las Vegas, NV) - $19,206
3) "Kay L" (Atlanta, GA) - $9,821
4) Shaun Helmle (Pasadena, TX) - $7,639
5) Brian McHann (Clinton, LA) - $6,548
6) David Gurievsky (Tampa, FL) $5,456
7) David Bourg (Houma, LA) - $4,365
8) Tim Repp (Plaquemine, LA) - $3,274
9) Jeff Bond (Thousand Oaks, CA) - $2,183
10) Christy Williams (Pearland, LA) - $1,310
Betfred Poker is holding qualifiers for the second installment of its Ladies Poker Tour. Visit them now to win your way there!