Nevada Ladies Poker Championship

I recently returned from the Nevada Ladies Poker Championship held at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. To say it was a lot of fun would be an understatement. I’ll get to the poker action below, but first I’d like to share some of the “extracurricular” activities during the weekend. You never know what is going to happen at a LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) event, but LIPS founder Lupe Soto and her representatives always have some cool surprises for the participants. My next LIPS event will be the Mississippi Ladies Poker Championship taking place March 21-23 at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. I hope to see you there!

I arrived at the Peppermill on Friday in time to check in and get to the charity event. It was great to reunite with so many friends from all over the country. Instead of raising money for the charities through the standard poker tournament, participants paid $20 which went to the charities and got to play a lot of fun games including Left-Right-Center, Roshambo, and No Peekie Hold’em. Harold and Dan from Hold’em Radio helped host the games and taught me the rules since I was a Roshambo virgin. I don’t understand the attraction of the game, but we laughed a lot and I managed to make it into the semi-finals. I won the Left, Right, Center game, despite being away from the table most of the time shopping in the silent auction. The charities benefiting from the fun and games were When Charity Works and Poker Gives.

There were about 100 women in the first poker tournament. I went out fairly early with a bluff gone bad (good call Tracy!). Host Jimmy Horikawa does a fantastic job of catering to the player’s needs in the high-limit room and immediately welcomed me into a $20-$40 hold’em game.

Saturday morning started out with a tasty buffet breakfast for the ladies. After breakfast, Jan Fisher and I presented a poker seminar for the attendees, followed by an adult scavenger hunt hosted by Lupe Soto. Next, a new record was set when 147 women entered the main event. Again I went out early – this time it took a really bad beat – but I was fortunate enough to play $10-$20 Big O for the next 12 hours.

Sunday’s tournament was a limit Texas hold’em/Omaha/8 tag team event, but players had the option to play without a partner and play both games. Since I don’t like the pressure of team play, I played solo and managed to cash in fourth place.

The Peppermill has a remodeled cardroom that is very comfortable for the players with great chairs, a waiting area, a self-serve beverage area, and complimentary soup and food several times a day. Cardroom Manager Mike Nelson was definitely hands-on throughout the weekend and worked hard to make sure everyone had a good time. His staff and he did a great job running the tournaments and the live cash games in the busy cardroom. Helping Lupe were photographer Joy Coblentz, regional representatives Anna Marie Hand, Gina Trampusch, and executive assistant Angie Garcia. Congratulations to everyone involved for a very successful event. Reno is one of my favorite poker getaways and I thank the Peppermill staff for providing such a great event!

Linda Johnson
Card Player Cruises