2023 WSOP Featured Females: Who Will Win the Largest Ladies Event In Poker History?

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Jun 30, 2023 3 min read

The eventual winner of the currently underway Event #67: $1,000 Ladies Event Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) will not only take home a bracelet and $192,167 but will also earn a special place in poker history. That's because with its 1,295 entries on Day 1, the event is the largest Ladies Event to ever take place in poker.

The previous biggest WSOP Ladies Event took place in 2007 with 1,286 entries and saw Sally Boyer defeating Anne Heft to win $262,077. Last year's WSOP Ladies Championship drew 1,074, making for a 20% increase this time around.

Brill, Jett & Teusl All In Contention

The 331 players who returned for Day 2 today look to join the list of Ladies Event Champions that includes last year's champion Jessica Teusl, who herself made Day 2 as she chases back-to-back titles. The Austrian, who also finished eighth in the 2022 $1,500 Monster Stack for $120,455, offered a sweat for those on social media following her in the event.

There were plenty of other familiar faces entering the Day 2 field, including 2021 GPI Charitable Initiative Award winner Veronica Brill, who was all smiles on Day 1 as she played with the assistance of a plush kangaroo wearing boxing gloves, as well as longtime Vegas poker player and real estate agent Karina Jett and 2013 Ladies Event champion and three-time GPI Female Player of the Year Kristen Foxen.

Defending Female POY Cherish Andrews was unable to find a bag on Day 1 but did organize a last-longer bet with 32 players to leave $16,000 up top for the last woman standing.

Day 1 chip leader Bernice McLennan, meanwhile, looked to continue growing her stack of over 100 big blinds on the Canadian's quest for her first major poker score.

Money Bubble Bursts

Everyone still in the Ladies Event Championship will be guaranteed at least $1,601 as the money bubble burst during Level 14 on Friday afternoon.

The bubble hand was caught by PokerNews' own Gaelle Jaudon, who documented the bustout in the event's live updates.

Aroha Ngata started the action with a raise to 7,000 and Lu Huang three-bet to 18,000 in the cutoff. Samantha Gonzalez looked at her cards on the button and after a minute, she shoved for 96,000. Ngata counted her stack and made the call, while Huang quickly folded:

Samantha Gonzalez: A♥K♣
Aroha Ngata: A♦A♣

Gonzalez was in desperate shape for a double up, and the board didn't help her with 5♠A♠6♥2♣5♣, improving Ngata's hand into a full house to bust Gonzalez in the unfortunate position of the bubble girl of the tournament.

Be sure to follow along the Ladies Event Championship action with PokerNews' live updates ahead of a champion being crowned in the biggest Ladies Event in poker history.

And don't forget to read about other 2023 WSOP Featured Females, including the ladies who were out in full force during last week's Tag Team event.

Largest WSOP Ladies Events In Poker History

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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• Tags Anne Heft Aroha Ngata Bernice McLennan Cherish Andrews Gaelle Jaudon Jessica Teusl Karina Jett Kristen Foxen Lisa Hamilton Samantha Gonzalez Sally Boyer
• Related Players Lisa HamiltonKarina JettKristen FoxenCherish AndrewsSally BoyerJessica Teusl