Home ▪Casinos  ▪Chat  ▪Dining  ▪Entertainment  ▪FAQ  ▪Forum  ▪Gambling ▪Lodging  ▪Promos  ▪Site Map
 ▪ Tunica Attractions  ▪Tunica  ▪Tunica Hotels  ▪News  ▪Travel Book

Touched By an Angel: Angel Word Wins Ladies
Championship
in Record-Setting Event

Angel Word, a registered nurse from Bowdon, GA won the largest ladies tournament ever held in the South.  She was the winner of the Ladies No-Limit Hold’em championship at the 2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open, held in in Tunica, MS.  In terms of crowd excitement and player enthusiasm, it was – by far – the highlight of the 18-event tournament, to date.  Every showdown and turn of a card brought the standing-room only crowd to its feet.  Fortunes and chip leads changed multiple times during the three-hour slam-bang finale.  At the conclusion, Angel Word was in tears.  In short, it was everything anyone would ever want to see at a tournament final table.  Too bad the television cameras were not there to capture the drama.

The real story of Angel Word’s first tournament victory started, not in Tunica, but at a casino in Philadelphia, MS.  A few weeks ago, Angel picked up a flyer at the casino.  She saw an advertisement for a poker tournament called the “Jack Binion World Poker Open.”  She also saw that the tournament offered a Ladies Championship event.

Angel made her way to Tunica, hoping to play.  But, disaster struck early.  She lost most of her starting chips in the first few hours.  She almost went out, when she was down to just a few chips and moved ‘all in’ with Q-8 – not exactly one of hold’em’s best hands.  Incredibly, Angel spiked an Eight and managed to double up.  A few hands later, she doubled up again.  Within an hour, she was back to an average stack.  Somehow, she managed to stay alive for 10 full hours, and made it into the money.  When the final table commenced at 10:30 pm on a Sunday night, Angel arrived third in chips, behind the leaders – Tracy Malvestuto and Gyla Whitlow.  Finalists were eliminated as follows:  

9^th Place – Seneathia Porter, an administrative director from Birmingham, AL was the first player to exit.  She lost with A-K to Trudy Wells’ A-K.  Porter received $1,680 in prize money.

8^th Place – The first of Angel Word’s miracles at the final table came when she went heads-up with one of the big stacks – Gyla Whitlow.  Angel got caught in a disadvantageous situation with J-10 against A-K.  The first four cards were 5-3-2-7 and it looked like Angel might fly away.  But a Ten fell on the river, which meant Gyla Whitlow lost most of her chips.  A few hands later, Whitlow suffered another cruel blow, losing with 5-5 to pocket Jacks.  Then, in a three-way pot, Whitlow took A-9 up against Angel, and lost (see details below).  Whitlow, an event producer from Houston, TX, collected $2,520.

7^th Place – In the same hand that eliminated Whitlow, Thuy ‘Cindi’ Nguyen had pocket Sevens.  The hand developed as follows: 

Nguyen – 7-7

Whitlow – A-9

Angel – K-10

The final board showed A-Q-3-J-J.  Incredibly, Angel caught a straight on the turn and eliminated two players.  Nguyen was the higher finisher by virtue of her larger number of chips.  She earned $3,360 in prize money. 

6^th Place – Jewel Spooner was the next to get cut.  Spooner played her last hand with 9-9 against Karen Clark’s K-J.  A King shattered Spponer’s chances of winning.  But the lady who finished in 4^th place in an event here last year did received $4,200 for 6^th place in this event.

5^th Place – Tracy Malvestuto, and environmental compliance specialist from Champaign, IL went out next.  Low on chips, she made her final stand with A-K, but lost to Angel’s A-J when a Jack fell on the turn.  Malvestuto took prize money of $5,040.

4^th Place – Karen Clark was the next player to be eliminated.  The registered nurse from Mayfield, KY came in low in chips, was close to the chip lead at several points, but failed to win the key pot necessary to put her in control of the final table.  She finally went out in 4^th place, worth $5,704 in prize money.

3^rd Place – Trudy Wells, a procurement officer from Michigan was attending the JBWPO for the first time.  She was dealt A-5 on her final hand against Liz Brown’s A-Q.  Predictably, the lesser hand failed to catch up and Wells was dry.  She received $6,518 for 3^rd place.

Heads up, the chip count was about even.  But from the outset of the duel, Angel Word was the aggressor.  She repeatedly pressured Liz Brown with raises, to the point where she was ahead about 2 to 1 in chips.  After a few big pots, Brown was desperate to win a moved in with J-6 hoping to take the pot, but Angel was only to happy to call with A-K.  The board was massive overkill.  Angle made a full house – Kings over Aces – and won the last pot of the night.

Liz Brown, from Denton, TX was the runner up.  Brown, who finished high in some online poker tournaments in the past, added $13,037 to her poker bankroll.

Meanwhile, a tearful Angel Word accepted first-place prize money of $25,261, the gold and diamond bracelet given to every tournament winner, a crystal trophy for the ladies championship, and a bouquet of flowers.  Who could have known that reading an ad in a newspaper a few weeks earlier could have led to such a big surprise.

2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open Ladies Event #18 Results

Horseshoe Casino Hotel and

Gold Strike Casino-Resort, Tunica, MS

Daily Report

January 23, 2005

Event #18

Ladies Championship Event

No-Limit Hold’em

Buy-In: $200

Number of Entries: 433 

Prize Money: $82,400

Official Results:

1.   Angel Word                      Bowdon, GA                $25,261

2.   Liz Brown                        Denton, TX                   13,037

3.   Trudy Wells     
Temperance, WI           6,518

4.   Karen Clark                       Mayfield, KY                5,704

5.   Tracy Malvestuto   
Champaign, IL              5,704

6.   Jewell Spooner      
Madison, MS                5,040

7.   Thuy Nguyen                    Tampa, FL                    3,360

8.   Gyla Whitlow           
Houston, TX                 2,520 

9.   Seneathia Porter   
Birmingham, AL 1,680

10. Kathy Keeter                    Maumee, OH                1,008

11. Stephanie Usry    
Hattiesburg, MS           1,008

12. Julie Palmer             
Boone, NC                   1,008

13. Jenny Kang                          Long Beach, CA           840

14. Shirley Slusher         
Pensacola, FL                840

15. Kimberlee Gonzalez   
Bartlett, TN                  840

16. Vicki Woods                    Cabool, MO                  672

17. Debra Van Pelt    
 Memphis, TN                672

18. Linda Calderale               
Jackson, TN                  672

19. Jade Tran                        
Los Angeles, CA 504

20. Mary Brown                   
Cincinnati, OH             504

21. Lisa Crompton                     Walls, MS                     504

22. Kelli Mix                
Carrolton, GA              504

23. Kathy Liebert                  
 Las Vegas, NV             504

24. Marisa Rodriguez          
Tampa, FL                    504

25. Patti Hoffmeister         
 San Antonio, TX            504

26. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman             
Las Vegas, NV             504

27. Tammy Montgomery           Memphis, TN                504

28. Mary Blackwell     
Phoenix, AZ                  336

29. Valerie Le Riche          
  Joplin, MO          336

30. Pamela Shandel             
 Paris, France                 336

31. Azur Sohnrey       
Tildon, IL                      336

32. Wendy Perez           
Canfield, OH                336

33. Christina Rodriguez           
Las Vegas, NV             336

34. Karla Lawlor             
Rockford, IL                 336

35. Lucy Rokach                    Stoke-on-Kent, UK      336

36. Kerry Smith               
Raleigh, NC                  336

Final Table Started at: 10:15 pm CST

Final Table Ended at: 12:15 pm CST

NOTE:  Special thanks to Grace Johnson for all her efforts.  Grace provided translation services for several players and also recommended Linda Machi, who sang the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ for the opening of the main event.  Thanks Grace!

Report by Nolan Dalla – JBWPO Media Director

Tournament Director – David Eglseder

Co-Tournament Director (Horseshoe) – Ken Lambert, Jr.

Co-Tournament Director (Gold Strike) – Robert McGovern

Events 1- 5
Click for Results for Event #6, #7, #8, #9,#10
Click for Results for Events #11, #12, #13, #14,#15
click for Schedule of Events

Advertise With Us    Contact Us       Privacy Policy    About Us
  Visit our other sites:   Atlanticcityone   Biloxione   Casinos-one   LasVegas-one   
Copyright Cuthbertson Media Group 2001-2007
Proud member of the Tunica Chamber of Commerce
Casinos* Casino Directory* Chat* Dining* Entertainment* Events & Promotions*Forum * Gambling * Links* Local
Maps * Reservations * Site Map * Slot Clubs* Travel * Tunica  Employment * Tunica Facts * Tunica Golf