Sitting Pretty ~ Day 2
A Well Earned Drink ~ Day 1
Above: 1. A well-earned drink. Celebrating at MGM's Tabu
nightclub after 15 hours of play on day 1.
2. Sitting pretty.  I eliminated Paul Wolfe early in the
second day's play to almost double my stack.
Left:  Tough table.  Day 3 saw me
pitted against the likes of Olga
Varkonyi & Can Kim Hua (pictured),
Aaron Kanter, & Andy Black. What a
lineup! But not as daunting as the
next day's competition, which
included Howard Lederer, Lee
Watkinson, and 2004 WSOP
Championship winner Russ Hamilton.
I try to play my best game as my
husband Michael (hand in pocket)
watches nervously from the rail.
Olga Varkonyi ~ Day 3
Say Cheese ~ Day 3 On the Rail ~ Day 3
In the Blinds ~ Day 4 Ante Up ~ Day 4 Waiting for the Action ~ Day 4 Waiting for the Action ~ Day 4 Surveying the Field ~ Day 4
Above:  In the blinds: A hand on day 4. At the start of day 4
there were 185 players left, of which only 5 were women. By the
day's end this would be down to 58 and 1 ~ and I would be out.

Left:  Second last woman standing. The final hours of day 4 ~ I
was eliminated soon after when my pocket queens ran into kings.

Right: In the money!  Not bad for four days' work.
Second Last Woman Standing ~ Day 4 In the Money


While the 2005 WSOP was my second try at the world
championship event, this was the first time I had made
the money ~ in fact my first cash in any tournament.  And
what a tournament!  With over 5600 players and a
prizepool of nearly US$53 million, the 2005 main event
broke all poker records.  I managed to make it through
four gruelling days, finishing in 63rd place as the
second highest placed woman, and taking home nearly
$150,000 for my efforts.  I was thrilled!  It was also great
to see fellow Australian Joe Hachem go on to win the
championship title, along with a cool $7.5 million.  And
now the 2006 World Series is upon us ~ I'm again
going to try my luck against the other hopefuls in what
promises to be another record-setting poker event.