Courtney Kennedy Wins 2016 World Series of Poker $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Ladies EventPoker Dealer From Detroit Defeats Field of 819 Players To Win First Gold Bracelet |
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Courtney Kennedy has won the 2016 World Series of Poker $1,000 no-limit hold’em ladies event, defeating a field of 819 entries to win her first gold bracelet and the top prize of $149,108.
“It’s just a pleasure and an honor,” said Kennedy after emerging victorious. “I love poker and have had cards in my hand since I was two years old… I’m just elated that I was able to get something out of my passion. I’m a regular home game player and I deal at Motor City Casino back in Detroit, so look at cards all day and have dealt to players who have won millions. I finally got a little piece of the pie now and I’m excited.”
Kennedy has played in the ladies event six years now, but this was her first time cashing in the event. She came into the final table in third chip position, but was able to build a commanding lead during short handed play.
By the time Kennedy reached heads-up play she held 3.6 million of the 4.1 million chips in play. Kennedy’s final opponent was Mandy Baker, a poker pro who has cashed in this event four times this decade including a seventh-place finish in 2013.
Heads-up play did not last long. Baker did find one double up with pocket aces, but Kennedy still held a huge advantage. Not too long after finding that double the final hand arose. With blinds of 15,000 – 30,000 and an ante of 5,000 Baker moved all in from the button for 420,000. Kennedy made the call with the A
K
, Baker was dominated with the K8
.
The board ran out K10476
and Kennedy’s kings with an ace kicker was good enough to take the pot and the title. Baker was sent to the rail as the runner-up, earning $92,121 for the largest live tournament score of her career.
Here is a look at the payouts awarded at this final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) |
| 1 | Courtney Kennedy | $149,108 |
| 2 | Mandy Baker | $92,121 |
| 3 | Xiu Deng | $64,401 |
| 4 | Natalia Breviglieri | $45,683 |
| 5 | Amanda Musumeci | $32,889 |
| 6 | Shelly Johnson-Ochoa | $24,037 |
| 7 | Wendy Freedman | $17,837 |
| 8 | Nicole Schwartz | $13,443 |
| 9 | Yaxi Zhu | $10,292 |
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2016 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
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