Lady Luck Shines On Ho After Vanessa Selbst Marriage
September 1, 2013 2:23 pmPoker professional Maria Ho has won the 2013 River Poker Series $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, after overcoming a field of 54 players over two days on her way to capturing the title, and collecting the $101,220 first place prize.
Interestingly, Maria Ho had just come directly from top women’s money earner Vanessa Selbst’s wedding in New York, which she said must have given her the extra luck she needed to win the tournament. Commenting on her close friend’s wedding, Maria Ho, said:
“I flew directly to WinStar the day after the ceremony, and now here I am. So, I guess it worked! Thanks, Vanessa!”
Maria Ho now boasts $1,441,972 in live career earnings and although the latest score is only her third biggest overall, it holds special significance for the Taiwanese-born pro as not only does it represents her first major tournament victory, but Ho is also sponsored by the WinStar Casino celebrity as a spokesperson. Reflecting on her remarkable achievement, Maria Ho said:
“It feels so great to finally close a tournament, and to win it here at WinStar, which is like a home to me, couldn’t be more perfect. I know a lot of players say ‘I felt it,’ which doesn’t always pan out, but going into Day 2, I really did feel it.”
The $5k buy-in River Poker Series was held at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, the second largest casino in the world, with the tournament attracting a small but tough field of pros to create a prize pool worth $300,000. By the time the final table of six had been reached Maria Ho then found herself squaring off against such talented opponents as Jared Jaffee and Alan Engel, before finally besting Kattamuri Sudwakarar heads-up to claim the title.
The final table payouts were as follows:
1st Maria Ho $101,220
2nd K Sudwakarar $75,000
3rd Alan Engel $50,250
4th Jared Jaffee $34,260
5th Mario Silvestri $23,550
6th Clinton Baker $15,720