With the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship Festival at Wynn Las Vegas just weeks away, the poker tour announced that the upcoming festival will feature “a number of female-focused initiatives,” including giveaways, the largest-ever Ladies Event prize pool and a meet-up game hosted by poker commentator Jamie Kerstetter.
The initiatives are aptly timed as Angelica Hael, head of Global Tour Management for WPT and vice president of WPT Enterprises, was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) along with Vanessa Selbst, Jennifer Tilly and Terry King.
“We are so encouraged by the tremendous initial response to the World Championship Event,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a press release. “Considering the immense efforts by our very own VP of Global Tour Management, Angelica Hael, it is only fitting to advocate for the progression of women in poker, including the many women who have been critical to the WPT story.”
Read about the WiPHoF Class of 2022!
$200K Guaranteed Ladies Event
The $1,100 buy-in WPT Ladies Championship, which kicks off on Dec. 16 and runs through Dec. 18, will feature a guaranteed prize pool of $200,000, the largest ever for a Ladies Event. In another first, the tournament will be “the first open Ladies Event filmed for television and will be broadcasted across WPT platforms,” according to WPT.
During Day 2 of the Ladies Championship on Dec. 17, the Kerstetter-led WPT Ladies Meet-Up Game will take place inside the Wynn Poker Room. Running at $1/$2 and $2/$5 stakes, the MUG will feature poker pros like Xuan Liu and Ashley Sleeth and WPT Anchor Lynn Gilmartin.
There are plenty of ways to win seats into the Ladies Championship any many of them have already been awarded.
Here is a list of all the opportunities:
- WPT Choctaw – One Passport for Ladies Event participants – Yvette Barrera (May 4)
- JACK Cleveland Casino – One Passport during their JACK Poker Weekend – Katie Kopp (Aug. 27)
- SHARE Inc. – One Passport during 2022 Poker Classic – Heidi Straus (Oct. 13)
- Poker League of Nations – Two Passports during monthly Ladies Event – Stephanie Nolan (Oct. 15); November winner TBD
- Women’s Poker Association – Two Passports – Angel Smith (Nov. 8, Facebook giveaway with 627 entries); Bounty prize during WiPHoF (Dec. 14)
- Women in Poker – Two Passports – TBD (Nov. 28); Prize during their Winter Festival (December)
- Milestone Satellite – 10 seats guaranteed – $200 buy-in live satellite at Wynn Las Vegas (Dec. 15)
- Malta Poker Festival – One Passport (TBD)
Another of the ladies initiatives stems directly from the recent WiPHoF induction of Hael, who has been with WPT for more than a decade and “has spearheaded unprecedented international growth for WPT since she joined the company and has consistently encouraged women’s poker initiatives throughout her career.”
On Nov. 27, ClubWPT will host an open tournament where players can knock out Hael to win a WPT World Championship Passport bounty prize. Other WiPHoF members will also be in the field and can be eliminated to earn players a $100 ShopWPT voucher.
To learn more about how to play on ClubWPT and win seats into events, visit ClubWPT.com.
The WPT World Championship is set to be one of the biggest and best poker events ever. The $10,400 buy-in event guarantees a $15 million prize pool, the largest guaranteed prize pool in live poker history, and will also feature The Premier Meet-Up Game: WPT Poker Icons Experience with WPT ambassadors like Doyle Brunson and Steve Aoki.