2012 WSOP A Breakout Year For The Ladies

The 2012 WSOP proved somewhat of a breakout year for women’s poker, with many of the ladies lodging more impressive results in the series than ever before.
High on the list of top achievers was PokerStars Team Pro Vanessa Selbst, who won a bracelet in Event #52: $2,500 10 Game Six Handed, after defeating a field of 421 players on her way to collecting the $244,259 first place prize. In so doing, Selbst not only picked-up a second career bracelet but also became the first women to win a gold bracelet in an open WSOP tournament since she won her first WSOP event back in 2008. In addition, at the $1,500 NL Event, Selbst finished 4th for $161,345, and made an impressive run in the Main Event, eventually finishing 73rd for $88,070.
Another lady bracelet winner this year was Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, who took down Event #29: $1k Seniors NL Championship, having first seen off a 4,127 player field to collect the $603,713 first place prize. After her victory, the wife of poker pro Barry Shulman said: “I’m happy for myself but I am also happy for all women that I’ve won this, showing that any woman can win a poker tournament. I’d like to see more women out there playing and feeling comfortable going at it with the boys.”
Amanda Musumeci has gained a lot of attention recently, as her successes both online and live have brought her into the closer focus of the poker community. Finishing Event#9: $1,500 Hold’em Re-Entry in 2nd place out of 3,404 entries for $481,643, as well as an 8th place finish at the $10k NL National Championship for $48,576 will only serve to consolidate her standing further.
Another woman player enjoying 2012 WSOP success was Australia’s Jackie Glazier, who in Event#41: $3k NL finished 2nd out of 1,394 players for $458,996, while Cherish Andres of St. Thomas also had a memorable 2012 WSOP after finishing Event #31: $1,500 NL in 4th for $210,083.
Finally, the lady players provided some of the most excitement in the $10k Main Event, with deep runs being made by Susie Zhao in 90th ($73,805), Vanessa Selbst in 73rd ($88,070), Marcia Topp in 71st ($106,056), and falling just short of the final table Norway’s Elisabeth Hille in 11th ($590,442) and France’s Gaelle Baumann (photo) in 10th ($590,442).
There are also countless other examples of women players making deep runs in this year’s series despite being greatly outnumbered, but suffice to say the 2012 WSOP will go down as a historic year for the ladies.