2014 Women In Poker Hall Of Fame: Shulman and Giardina Inducted

On Wednesday, June 25th, the Golden Nugget Convention Center in Las Vegas played host to the 2014 Women In Poker Hall Of Fame, with more than 150 people turning out to see Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and Deborah Giardina inducted as its newest members.
Allyn Jaffrey Shulman has been practicing law for more than 30 years and is also considered an expert on internet gambling law. Over the years the former Poker Player Alliance board member has used her skill and expertise to further the poker cause and even testified in front of the North Dakota Senate at a time when it was trying to become the first state to authorize regulated internet gambling in America.
Shulman has also enjoyed a long-running poker career, having notched up $1,280,751 in live tournament winnings since her first cash back in 2001. In 2012, however, she then hit the pinnacle of her tournament career after taking down the $1k NL Seniors Championship for $603,713, in so doing becoming the first woman  to win a mixed-gender WSOP tournament since Vanessa Selbst in 2008. In 2013, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman subsequently won the Venetian Deepstacks $5K Championship for $293,966, and at this year’s WSOP has already cashed a further three times, including finishing the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event #25) in 14th out of 470 players for $11,676.
Reflecting on her poker playing success, Allyn had these words of wisdom to offer her fellow female poker players: “But when you think about it, ladies, we actually have the edge. Guys are scared to death of our power. They can’t read us, [and] they think we don’t know how to bluff.”
Also inducted into this year’s Women in Poker Hall of Fame was Deborah Giardina, who started out her career as a dealer in 1990. She subsequently rose to become card room director in poker rooms across the USA, including Director of Poker Operations at Wynn Las Vegas, and her current position of Vice President of Poker Operations at bestbet Jacksonville in Florida.
Over the years, Deborah Giardina has also been credited with modernizing card room policies, and as she explains: “We took cutting edge ideas—non-smoking, no abuse, zero tolerance, I was right there. It was easy for me. I’m only here because of the people I’ve surrounded myself with, and because of all of you.”
Both Allyn Jaffrey Shulman and Deborah Giardina now join an illustrious group of past winners, which include Phyllis Caro, Joanne JJ Liu, Kathy Liebert, Jennifer Harman, and Barbara Enright, to name but a few.