Mary Jones is the latest World Series of Poker champ to take home a barrow full of money and that coveted champion’s bracelet.
1128 international women players signed up for the $1000 Ladies’ No Limit Hold’em event, and it took over 17 hours on day one alone to whittle the field down to 26 survivors. From there, it was more intense, and the final table was decided within a few hours.
Nine women made up the final table with widely differing chip counts. The final contestants were women aged between 24 and 50 with a diversity of backgrounds. They hailed from Nevada, Texas, New York, Michigan, Oklahoma, California, Illinois, and Austria. In another WSOP first, two of the players boasted that they were expectant mothers.
Julie Allen – 264 000
Laurie Scott – 259 000
Sue Luckenbaugh – 240 000
Devi Ortega – 223 000
Shawnee Barton – 169 000
Mary Jones- 134 000
Beatrice Stranzinger – 119 000
Ellie Ahlgren – 79 000
Reka Hellgato – 67 000
Play was distinctly more aggressive and focused than had been the case with earlier tables, where a chatty, friendly atmosphere had prevailed as entrants competed for the final table.
At the end of an exciting tussle with some excellent and skilful poker displays, it came down to Shawnee Barton, an artist from Chicago and Mary Jones, wife of pro player Bob Meyer who between them had been responsible for eliminating every other final table player. Barton held the chip lead with a significant advantage at 1 267 000 against Jones’s 338 000, but the gutsy Jones played some enterprising and brilliant poker to prevail, winning her first World Series of Poker bracelet and a first place payout of $236 094 while Barton earned $123 178 for second.
WSOP sponsor Corum Watches made Mary’s day a little more special by donating a stunning diamond-studded ladies wristwatch, exclusively-designed for the ladies’ special championship event.
“I definitely owe this tournament to my husband and his training,” Mary Jones Meyer said. “He taught me many things about poker and we play together all the time. It was definitely a team win.”
The ladies’ event was the biggest and richest women’s poker tournament in history. Twice as many participants entered as last year – when the bracelet was won by Academy Award-nominated actress Jennifer Tilly. A huge crowd flooded into the ESPN arena to witness the championship finale, which lasted four very exciting hours.
Incidental statistics on WSOP to date are that the 2006 spectacle, up to and including Event 15 has seen a total of 16 476 players in action and the distribution of a staggering $26 710 492 in prize money….and there’s more to come as the excitment builds to the main event.