The WSOP, WPT Honors, and Women in Poker Hall of Fame

The deadline for this column was May 21, about a week before the 2018 World Series of Poker was due to start. For many poker players around the world, myself included, the WSOP is an extravaganza that we look forward to all year. I’ve been attending and participating since 1980; that’s the year I entered my first bracelet event and it was life changing for me.

I had already decided that if I did well, I would quit my well-paying, secure government job at the Postal Service and move to Las Vegas to become a professional poker player. After coming in fifth place in the ladies seven-card stud event, I gave my two-week notice and then moved to Las Vegas to begin my poker career. I’ve had no regrets; poker has provided a very good life for my family and I still have a strong passion for the game.

By the time you read this column, the WSOP will be about half-way finished. We will have new bracelet winners and new poker heroes (and possibly poker villains) will have been discovered. Bankrolls will have been significantly increased or decreased. For everyone coming to the WSOP for the first time, I hope it is everything you want it to be. I look forward to meeting many new players and getting to reconnect with longtime friends too. I’m intending to spend a lot of time playing poker in Las Vegas during the month of June and am thrilled that there will be so many poker rooms around Las Vegas offering a wide variety of poker tournaments and live games to fit every budget. There will also be lots of poker-related activities, poker parties, and several major poker events.

By the time this column comes out, the World Poker Tour will have held its 2018 WPT Honors induction dinner at Del Frisco’s Steak House in Las Vegas. WPT’s CEO Adam Pliska explained that the WPT’s Honor Award is the WPT’s highest honor and is presented to members of the poker community in appreciation for their achievements and contributions made to the World Poker Tour and to the poker world in general. In 2017, I was honored to be the inaugural recipient of the award, followed a few months later by Mike Sexton and Bruno Fitoussi’s inductions.

This year, the fourth and fifth members to be inducted into WPT Honors are Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman. These men are well deserving of the award. Steve Lipscomb was the founder and CEO of the WPT during its first eight years. He wrote, directed, and produced the Tour’s televised shows and established the successful WPT format. Under Lipscomb’s leadership, the WPT became the first internationally distributed poker television franchise and was distributed in more than 130 markets world-wide within two years. Lipscomb also received the American Poker Awards first Lifetime Achievement Award. I had the pleasure of working with Steve Lipscomb during the first six seasons of the WPT and he truly is an exceptional person who deserves all the accolades given to him. His co-inductee Lyle Berman also was instrumental in the success of the WPT. In fact he so believed in its success that he put his money on the line as its original investor. He is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame and has done a lot to expand poker globally. Congratulations on your WPT Honors induction Lyle!

The Women in Poker Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2018: Lupe Soto and Maria Ho. These two outstanding ladies will be inducted during a special luncheon at the Orleans on June 26. This event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased at http://womenspokerhalloffame.com/wiphof/purchase-tickets/. I am thrilled with this year’s inductees. Lupe Soto has been a strong proponent for women in poker since 2002. She is the founder of the Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) and travels all over the country to promote women in poker. Ho is a role model for the poker world. She has more than $2.7 million in tournament winnings and is a great advocate for our game. She has been a host and commentator on many televised poker shows and is one of my favorite people in our poker industry. Congratulations Lupe and Maria! Please join me at the WIPHOF luncheon to honor these amazing women.

In closing, I want to thank my business partners Jan Fisher and Mark and Tina Napolitano for your hard work that led to breaking all previous Card Player Cruises passenger count records during the first five months of 2018. We just hosted the inaugural Run Good Poker Championship at Sea and will be hosting the Card Player Poker Tour $25,000 guaranteed main event on our Sept. 23, 2018 sailing. We will also be cruising to Cuba for the first time in November. For details and a complete list of upcoming cruises, go to www.cardplayercruises.com. ♠

Linda Johnson is a WSOP bracelet winner and hosts tournaments, seminars, and charity events. Please contact her at [email protected] with questions or comments.