List of World Series of Poker ladies champions

Susie Isaacs is one of only two women to win the Ladies Championship in back to back years.

Jennifer Tilly, Academy Award nominee, won the 2005 Ladies Championship.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP), held annually in Las Vegas, is "the oldest, largest, most prestigious, and most media-hyped gaming competition in the world".^[1] The WSOP bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win.^[2] Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP, but titles won before 1976 are still counted as "bracelets".

The first WSOP was not a freeze out tournament, but rather an event with a set start and stop time and the winner determined by secret ballot.^[3] In 1973, a second event, five-card stud, was added. Over the years, most of the major poker variants have been played at least once. In 1977, the first Ladies only event was introduced in the form of $100 buy-in Stud Poker Tournament. Jackie McDaniels won that event to become the first Ladies Champion. She won one of the smallest prizes ($5,580) in WSOP history. By 2007, the popularity of the Ladies Event had grown to the point that it became the first Ladies-only event to have a prize pool greater than $1,000,000. The Ladies played Seven Card Stud for the event's first two decades, but have been playing Texas hold 'em since 2001.^[4]

Since its inception, three players have won multiple Ladies Championships: Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, and Nani Dollison. Dollison and Isaacs won the event in consecutive years. Between 1991 and 1997, Isaacs set an event record by qualifying for a cash prize, known as finishing in-the-money, five times.^[4] The 1983 Ladies World Poker Championship was the first time that a person "of color", Carolyn Gardner, won a WSOP bracelet.^[4]

Traditionally, the Ladies event was the only event held on Mother Day. Due to complaints from mothers, the event was moved to a different day in 2004.^[4] Potential conflicts with Mother's Day no longer exist as the WSOP's new owner, Harrah's Casino, moved the event from late spring to the late summer.^[4]

The WSOP started offering a "WSOP Academy Ladies Only Poker Camp" in 2007. This week-long event is held at Caesars Palace and is designed to equip women with the tools to compete at the World Series of Poker. It is held the week leading up to the Ladies Championship. Every year since its inception, a participant from the camp has made it to the final table. In 2007, Ladies Champion Sally Anne Boyer participated in the camp.^[5] Patty Till, a 2008 attendee, finished in third place at the 2008 Ladies Championship.^[6]

WSOP Ladies Championship events[]

Year	Event name	Winner	Prize (US$)	Bracelet #	Runner-up	References
1977	$100 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Jackie McDaniels	$5,580	1	unknown	[7]
1978	$200 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Terry King	$10,080	1	unknown	[8]
1979	$400 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Barbara Freer	$12,720	1		[9]
1980	$400 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Deby Callihan	$14,880	1		[10]
1981	$400 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Ruth Godfrey	$17,600	1		[11]
1982	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	June Field	$16,000	1		[12]
1983	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Carolyn Gardner	$16,000	1		[13]
1984	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Karen Wolfson	$15,000	1	Marsha Waggoner	[14]
1985	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Rose Pifer	$18,500	1		[15]
1986	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Barbara Enright	$16,400	1 (of 3)		[16]
1987	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Linda Ryke-Drucker	$16,800	1		[17]
1988	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Loretta Huber	$17,000	1		[18]
1989	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Alma McClelland	$18,600	1		[19]
1990	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Marie Gabert	$22,000	1		[20]
1991	$500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Donna Ward	$28,200	1		[21]
1992	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Shari Flanzer	$38,000	1		[22]
1993	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Phyllis Kessler	$32,800	1		[23]
1994	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Barbara Enright (2)	$38,400	2 (of 3)		[16]
1995	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Starla Brodie	$35,200	2 (of 2)	Karen Wolfson	[24]
1996	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Susie Isaacs	$42,000	1 (of 2)		[25]
1997	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Susie Isaacs (2)	$38,000	2 (of 2)	Karen Wolfson	[25]
1998	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud		$40,000	1		[26]
1999	$1,000 Ladies' Seven Card Stud	Christina Pie	$34,000	1		[27]
2000	$1,000 Ladies' Limit Hold'em/Seven Card Stud	Nani Dollison	$53,200	1 (of 3)		[28]
2001	$1,000 Ladies' Championship	Nani Dollison (2)	$41,130	3 (of 3)		[28]
2002	$1,000 Ladies' Championship		$39,880	1		[29]
2003	$1,000 Ladies' 1/2 Hold'em, 1/2 Stud	Barb Rugolo	$40,700	1	J. J. Liu	[30]
2004	$1,000 Ladies Limit Hold 'Em	Hung Doan	$58,530	1		[31]
2005	$1,000 Ladies' No Limit Hold'em	Jennifer Tilly[a]	$158,335	1		[32]
2006	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em	Mary Jones Meyer	$236,094	1		[33]
2007	$1,000 World Championship Ladies No Limit Hold'em	Sally Boyer	$262,077	1		[34]
2008[b]	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship	Svetlana Gromenkova	$224,702	1		[35]
2009	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship	Lisa Hamilton	$195,390	1		[36]
2010	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship		$192,132	1		[37]
2011	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship	Marsha Wolak	$192,344	1	Karina Jett
2012	$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em World Championship		$170,587	1
2013	$10,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]	Kristen Bicknell	$173,922	1 (of 3)
2014	$10,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$153,470	1
2015	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$153,876	1
2016	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$149,108	1
2017	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$135,098	1
2018	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$130,230	1
2019	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$167,308	1
2020	not held
2021	$10,000/$1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold'em Championship[c]		$115,694	1

^a 2005 Ladies Champion Jennifer Tilly was the first non-poker celebrity to win a WSOP bracelet. Tilly had been nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Bullets over Broadway.^[38]

^b On 10 June 2008, three events awarded bracelets, including the Ladies event. This was the first time in WSOP history that three people living in the same city, New York, won bracelets on the same day.^[6] It was also the first time that a new "excessive celebration" penalty was implemented to minimize disruption from exuberant players.^[6]

^c From 2013, the entry fee was officially changed to $10,000 with a $9,000 "discount" for ladies. This was done to close a legal loophole used by men to enter the ladies event in several prior years.

References[]