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Women In Poker Hall Of Fame Finalists: Here’s Who I’ll Be Voting For

Founded in 2008 by Lupe Soto, the Women in Poker Hall of Fame has spent the last 10 years honoring the many talented women who have persevered and succeeded in the male-dominated world of poker.

Whether they’re poker practitioners or work in the industry, the WiPHoF shines a spotlight on the accomplishments of these women.

2018 is an induction year, and as a WiPHoF voter, I have the privilege to play a small part in shaping the Women in Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

The 10 finalists were announced on Tuesday.

“The Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) is proud to announce the candidates for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, Class of 2018,” a press release from the organization states. “This list of women are heavy hitters in the industry and deserve a nod for their hard work and accomplishments in poker.

Before I get to this year’s group of finalists and my choices, here’s a look at the current members of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.

Current WiPHoF members

The inaugural class of 2008 featured four inductees.

From 2009-2011, three more women were inducted each year.

And since 2012, the WiPHoF has inducted two women every other year.

Class of 2008

  • Barbara Enright
  • Susie Isaacs
  • Linda Johnson
  • Marsha Waggoner

Class of 2009

  • June Field
  • Jan Fisher
  • Cyndy Violette

Class of 2010

  • Billie Brown
  • Jennifer Harman
  • Kathy Liebert

Class of 2011

  • Kristy Gazes
  • Margie Heintz
  • Phyllis Caro Yazbek

Class of 2012

  • JJ Liu
  • Kathy Raymond

Class of 2014

  • Deborah Giardina
  • Allyn Shulman

Class of 2016

  • Debbie Burkhead
  • Victoria Coren Mitchell

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This year’s Women In Poker Hall Of Fame nominees

After a round of public voting, 10 women have been chosen as this year’s finalists.

They are:

  • Hermance Blum – The current general manager of WPT Europe, Hermance is one of the most respected individuals in European poker, having worked for PokerStars, partypoker, and the WPT.
  • Mandy Glogow – Mandy has been with the WPT since 2005, and is now the show’s supervising producer, responsible for mixing the strategy of poker with the storylines of the players.
  • Angelica Hael – Following stints with the Crown Casino and partypoker, Angelica now serves as the vice president of WPT Enterprises, as well as running her own consulting company for online and land-based gaming companies.
  • Haley Hintze – A longtime writer and editor, Haley is best known for her exhaustive work on the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker cheating scandals.
  • Maria Ho – Maria is one of the most successful female tournament players of all time, and has added on-air personality to her resume in recent years.
  • Karina Jett – Karina was playing poker before poker was even popular, and in addition to a successful career as a player, she’s worked behind the scenes to improve the live poker environment, as well as on charity poker events.
  • Terry King – Terry was a true trailblazer. After moving to Las Vegas in the early 70’s she began to play poker professionally and later gained recognition dealing, running tournaments, and working the floor. The WSOP bracelet winner now acts as an admin for the poker community site RealGrinders on Facebook.
  • Shirley Rosario – A successful cash game player, Shirley has excelled in many areas of the industry, be it running websites and blogs, or in her role as a consultant with PokerStars.
  • Kara Scott –For more than a decade, Kara has been one of the hardest working people in poker, and a wearer of many hats: TV personality, broadcaster, commentator, ambassador, and poker player.
  • Lupe Soto – Lupe has spent the last 20 years devoting her time to poker, and specifically women in poker. She created the first online poker forum for women called Poker Chix and is the current CEO of the Poker Gives charity. She also founded Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS Tour); the Seniors Poker Tour; the Women in Poker Hall of Fame; and the soon-to-launch Women’s Poker Association (WPA).
  • Jennifer Tilly – The Academy Awarding winning actress is the most recognizable name on this list, and unlike other celebrity players, poker wasn’t a hobby. Her fame coupled with her passion for the game led to many TV appearances; appearances that have helped promote the game to new audiences.

How I’ll divvy up my votes and why

The list of finalists is overflowing with worthy candidates, and I have little doubt that most of these women will eventually be inducted into the WiPHoF.

As one of the voters I can split a total of 10 votes between one or more finalists.

Here’s how I will be splitting up my votes:

  • Karina Jett – 4 votes
  • Lupe Soto – 2 votes
  • Terry King – 2 vote
  • Shirley Rosario – 2 vote

Karina Jett is my top choice. She’s a professional in every sense of the word. Whether it’s being tasked with drumming up players for a local tournament, understanding how to make a cash game inviting for recreational players, or simply discussing the industry, you’ll find few people who can compete with Karina and that’s why she’s getting four of my 10 votes.

Lupe, Terry, and Shirley are all very deserving candidates who belong in the WiPHoF, and I split my remaining six votes equally between them.

Down the road, Maria Ho, Hermance Blum, and Kara Scott will be getting some of my votes, but before they do I want to see their forerunners honored.

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New Hampshire’s Fine With The Lottery, Just Not Profanity

New Hampshire has always been a relatively progressive state when it comes to the lottery.

In fact, it was the first state in the US to start running a legal lottery back in 1964. Some 53 years later, in 2017, New Hampshire joined Pennsylvania in becoming two of just a handful of states to pass legislation authorizing online lottery sales.

Illinois, Georgia, Michigan, and Kentucky already sell online lottery tickets. Pennsylvania released regulations for its online lottery program this week and sales are expected to launch soon. A timetable for launch in New Hampshire has not yet been released. But the law is in place.

Ad campaign dropped

However, when the state’s online lottery sales program eventually does launch, it will do so with the New Hampshire Lottery Commission‘s otherwise successful “Luck Yeah!” ad campaign.

It was dropped at the end of March. They did that after complaints it sounded a bit too much like a popular but profane phrase. Apparently, it’s OK to be progressive about the lottery. Just not in the language one uses advertising said lottery.

At least according to Republican Executive Councilor Russell Prescott, who apparently led the charge against the ad campaign.

New Hampshire Lottery’s Executive Director Charlie McIntyre did his best to defended the ads. However, Prescott could not be moved. McIntyre claimed luck is an inherent part of the lottery business. Plus, while the pun may have been insensitive to those overly sensitive regarding profanity, it was effective.

McIntyre said lottery revenues were in decline for five years when he took over in 2010. In response to complaints by Prescott at a meeting of the Governor and Executive Council, he noted that it has grown more than the rest of New England’s other lotteries combined since then.

The numbers went up because they followed McIntyre’s lead. Not because they took the advice of an aging career politician afraid of what an otherwise amusing ad tagline that happens to rhyme with something considered to be profanity says about morality in the great state of New Hampshire.

Yet still, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission decided to back Prescott on this one. They listened to his concerns and chose to re-purpose the ads with an updated tagline of “Win-Time.”

Online gambling could be a game changer

A phrase that is neither profane nor anywhere near as funny. But, it’s just neutral enough to have zero impact on lottery sales across the state.

Although, it will probably be remembered as the phrase that sets New Hampshire’s reputation as a progressive state when it comes to the lottery back 53 years.

Of course, if lawmakers find a way to go to the next level and pass online gambling legislation, all will be forgiven. That would allow the lottery or some other qualified entity to offer casino-style games on the internet inside state lines. It would also give New Hampshire its progressive reputation back for good.

New Hampshire did have a placeholder bill seeking to legalize online gambling up for consideration during an Executive Session last year.

The bill was found “inexpedient to legislate” by a unanimous 23-0 vote. That’d a fancy way of saying it put an end to New Hampshire’s online gambling hopes in 2017.

The state probably wants to get online lottery going before it starts kicking the tires on online gambling again.

However, if an ad that sounds like something profane is too much for the delicate moral sensibilities of members of the Executive Council, it’s hard to imagine online gambling ever getting a fair shake in the Granite State.

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If You’ver Ever Wondered What To Do If You Win The Lottery…

The odds of someone from Pennsylvania winning a half-billion dollar jackpot in the Mega Millions multi-state lottery aren’t very good.

In fact, according to a CNN Money story from January this year, they’re around 1 in 302.6 million. A person is 2,000 times more likely to get struck by lightning and killed.

The odds are better when you’re talking about Powerball, the other multi-state lottery which did see a $456.7-million winning ticket bought at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Lancaster County last month. The winner has yet to come forward, claim the prize and identify themselves. What we can say at this point is they hit a 292.2 million to 1 shot.

New Jersey player wins $521-million jackpot

No Pennsylvania Lottery player will be winning last Saturday night’s estimated $521-million Mega Millions jackpot, that’s for sure. Mega Millions officials claim the single winning ticket was bought at a Lukoil station in Riverdale, New Jersey, 30 miles west of New York City.

However, with odds like that and usually brisk sales, both the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots tend to rise pretty quickly. They’ll both be back in the half-billion range before long. Much like the Boy Scouts of America have been telling budding young men across this nation since the organization was founded in 1910, Pennsylvania Lottery officials want you to be prepared.

To that end, the Pennsylvania Lottery sent out a press release last week containing instructions on what to do if you win the half-billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot.

The moment may have passed this time around, but with another sure to be coming right around the corner, the information could still be useful. Particularly for those who can literally see their 300-million to 1 ship coming in someday soon.

What to do if you win a half-billion-dollar jackpot

Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko must know the odds are long, but he also understands people buy lottery tickets with a dream, and sometimes dreams do come true:

“It’s fun to imagine what it would feel like to win such a stunning jackpot, but remember that you only need one ticket to win. Should you win, there are some things to think about before claiming your prize.”

According to the press release, those things include:

  • Signing the winning ticket and keeping it in a secure place. Including a safety deposit box at a bank. Then keep it there until you are ready to visit Pennsylvania Lottery headquarters to file a claim. Be aware though, that if you sign your name, you might run into anonymity issues should you not want your name publicized.
  • Not feeling rushed. Winning tickets may be claimed up to one year from the drawing date. One previous winner in PA waited 100 days to claim.
  • Hiring financial and legal counsel to help plan what your next steps are going to be. Things like the choice between taking the annuity with annual payments or the one-time lump sum should be carefully considered. You’ll want all the information at your disposal and expert advice.
  • Finally, when you’re ready to claim the jackpot, call the Lottery office first. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. That way, they’ll be prepared for you to make a claim. Plus, you’ll be doing so armed with all the right information.

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NJ Online Gaming Scoop: Cash Game and Tournament Traffic for April 2

Last week, New Jersey online poker posted positive gains in both cash game and tournament traffic. This week was the opposite, with declines in traffic across the board according to PokerScout.com.

Compared to last week, cash games had a 7.6 percent decrease and tournament entries posted a whopping 28 percent decline. All three of the major operators entered overlay territory, with WSOP/888 posting the largest at $7,200.

Peak traffic also took a hit posting an average 8.1 percent decrease. For the first time in three weeks, the busiest day of the week was not Tuesday. Monday claimed the title with a peak traffic number of 700. That number is considerably off last week’s peak high of 843.

New Jersey traffic highlights for the week ending April 1

  • There is no significant winner this week, but if we had to pick one, it would be PokerStars. It posted the only number in positive territory for the week with a 5.6 percent increase in average cash game traffic. However, the gains made there were given back in the five-percent decline in tournament entries. PokerStars did have the smallest drop in entrants and the smallest overlay at $2,592.
  • There may not be a big winner, but there is a big loser – WSOP/888. On average, the network attracted 21.8 percent fewer cash game players then they did last week and registered 15 percent fewer entrants into their Sunday major tournament. WSOP/888 also posted the largest overlay of the week at $7,200.
  • Last week’s big winner, partypoker fell to the middle of the pack this week. They posted a 7.1 percent decline in average cash game traffic. And while they posted a massive 50-percent decline in tournament registrations compared to last week, they posted a smaller overlay ($2,800) than WSOP/888.
  • Pala Poker continues to fight for every player. Tournament data wasn’t available, but it’s unlikely that it hit its guarantee and their cash game traffic suffered a bit, losing on average two players per day.

With that said, let’s take a detailed look back at the cash game and tournament trends in the New Jersey online poker market for the week ending April 1, 2018.

New Jersey’s online poker operators

New Jersey has seven online poker sites operating on four separate networks.

During the week of March 26 – April 1, New Jersey online poker sites averaged 252 cash game players, a decrease of 7.6 percent from the previous week’s number of 273.

Peak traffic numbers came in at 622 players, a decrease of 8.1 percent from the previous week’s figure of 677.

The busiest day of the week fell on Monday with a peak number of players reaching 700. That was a significant decline over last week’s number of 843 which happened on a Tuesday.

Here’s how those players are distributed across the four online poker networks.

Borgata-MGM-partypoker

The seven-day rolling peak traffic average for partypoker was 164 cash game players. Compared to last week’s traffic average of 176, partypoker ended the week with a 7.1 percent decrease in traffic.

WSOP-888

The seven-day rolling peak traffic average for WSOP/888 was 191 cash game players. Compared to last week’s number of 244, WSOP/888 posted a significant 21.8 percent decrease in traffic.

PokerStars NJ

The seven-day rolling peak traffic average for PokerStars was 259 cash game players. Compared to the 245 players that the site averaged last week, PokerStars saw the only increase of the week at 5.6 percent in traffic.

Pala Poker

  • Platform provider: Pala
  • Sites in the network: PalaPoker.com

The seven-day rolling peak traffic average for Pala Poker was eight cash game players, which is a 25 percent decrease compared to last week’s traffic number of 11 players.

*Cash game traffic data provided by PokerScout.com. Collected April 2, 2018.

Evaluating cash game traffic trends

Thankfully, all of the gains from last week’s double-digit increase weren’t lost as cash game traffic once again ventured into negative territory.

This week online poker welcomed on average 252 cash game players. The 7.6 percent decline undoubtedly reflected the lack of a big tournament series and the winding down of several promotions.

The only increase of the whole report belongs to PokerStars. They posted a 5.6 percent increase in cash game traffic compared to last week, welcoming an average 259 players per day to their online poker room. It makes PokerStars the winner of the week by default.

WSOP/888 reported the largest gain in cash games traffic last week and this week they posted the biggest decline, outside of Pala Poker. While Pala Poker lost two players a day on average, WSOP/888 saw the average number of cash game players go from 176 to 164, for a 21.8 percent decrease.

Following the conclusion of GSSS Spring ’18 tournament series last week, it is no surprise that partypoker saw a decline in traffic this week. Honestly, a decrease of 7.1 percent is smaller than expected considering the huge numbers they posted last week.

New Jersey online poker rooms can expect a few slow weeks as operators prepare for their spring promotions and the next wave of tournaments. Look for WSOP/888 to start aggressively promoting satellites and qualifiers to the WSOP in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event most likely to impact online poker in April is NJSCOOP hosted by PokerStars. The tournament series includes 80 events and offers $1.3 million in guarantees. PokerStars is touting NJSCOOP as the “richest tournament series” held online in the Garden State.

Last year, NJSCOOP shattered its guarantees and based on the performance of GSSS Spring ’18, expect another great turnout. The big question remains will tournament traffic translate to cash game traffic? Check this space in a few weeks to find out.

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Tournament Report: A look at the Sunday Majors

With the conclusion of the GSSS Spring ’18 tournament series last week, All New Jersey operators returned to their regular Sunday schedule next week.

The major tournaments this week were:

  • The Borgata/partypoker/MGM online poker network hosted the $215 Sunday $40,000 guaranteed.
  • The WSOP/888 network hosted the $215 Ultimate Warrior $40,000 guaranteed tournament, also with a $215 buy-in.
  • PokerStars NJ hosted the Sunday Special, a $200 buy-in with a guaranteed prize pool of $45,000.
  • Pala Poker usually hosts the $1,000 Guaranteed Pala Mega Rebuy with a buy-in of $30. The data for this tournament wasn’t available at the time the information for tournament play was collected.

Major tournament results for April 1, 2018

It should come as no surprise that a decline in tournament entries would follow a big tournament series. The amount of the decline, however, is surprising.

Last week, there were 803 tournament entries across the platforms. This week there were 578, accounting for a 28 percent decrease.

Also expected this week was a decline in partypoker’s tournament traffic after posting a huge gain last week due to the GSSS Spring ’18. They registered 50 percent fewer entrants this week then they did last week – the largest decline of all the regulated poker sites in New Jersey.

WSOP/888 and Pokerstars also registered fewer entrants into their Sunday major tournaments by 15 percent and five percent, respectively.

Pala Poker tournament traffic data was unavailable, but they have yet to meet the guarantee for their Sunday major. It’s highly unlikely their numbers would have moved the needle one way or another.

Such a large decrease on the books translated to big overlays for the remaining three operators. One might expect partypoker to claim the largest overlay with such a huge decline in entries. In fact, their $2,800 overlay pales in comparison to the $7,200 overlay WSOP/888 paid out. PokerStars contributed the smallest amount ($2,592) to their prize pool.

Looking ahead, there is a beacon of hope for registering some positive April numbers. As mentioned earlier, PokerStars is hosting NJSCOOP 2018 with events running between April 14-30, 2018. The 17-day series will surely be a considerable boost to PokerStars’ tournament traffic. Click here for the complete schedule and ways to qualify for New Jersey’s richest online poker tournament.

Additionally, WSOP/888 will begin aggressively promoting the World Series of Poker through satellites and qualifiers. Based on those two factors, we are predicting April will end on a strong note.

And with that, here’s a look at the total number of entries for the biggest buy-in tournament held on each of the three leading online poker networks in New Jersey:

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Have We Seen The Last Of The Poker Players Alliance?

This story is a couple days late and some $18,985 short. It wasn’t filed immediately after the clock struck midnight, when Saturday night turned to Sunday morning and March turned to April with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) having fallen well short of raising the $25,000 it said it needed to continue fighting for poker.

Instead, this reporter waited for some word from the organization. A press release indicating what’s next. Something saying goodbye.

But apparently that’s not what you do when you tell the public the internet gaming industry has cut your funding and you’ll be forced to stop your work as the country’s only true poker advocacy group unless they come up with $25,000 to keep you afloat over the next couple of months.

Poker Players Alliance funding counter gone

What the PPA did do was quickly remove the embarrassing fundraising counter on its site showing it had only pulled in $6,015 in donations over that time. Then it linked out to an Online Poker Report story about the latest setback for online poker legislation in New York. Apparently, lawmakers in the state have left online poker out of the budget yet again, the same way the poker community has with donations for the PPA.

This despite the PPA’s exhaustive efforts fighting for online poker in the Empire State. Which consisted of the usual series of “contact your local representatives” Tweets and more links to stories from organizations that cover the US online poker legislative landscape.

To be fair, the PPA had very little do with what happened in New York. However, that in and of itself may be the problem.

Since the Department of Justice effectively shut down online poker in the US in 2011, the PPA has had very little do with what has happened in any state considering legislation to bring it back. Not to mention the four that actually have.

In fact, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and now Pennsylvania, probably would have passed online poker legislation without the PPA. Despite how significant an impact the organization seems to always say it has had been advocating for online poker across the country.

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A voice for the poker community?

Throughout these lean years for online poker in the US, the PPA has been here. They’ve been pushing for online poker, showing up at legislative hearings, telling state lawmakers people want to play. There’s no doubt the organization has maintained its position as a voice for the poker community. But whether anybody has been listening to that voice is the real question.

The truth is, four states passing bills legalizing online poker isn’t enough to say any organization has had a significant impact on the online poker landscape across this country. Especially considering those states may have done so even without their help.

Apparently, state lawmakers don’t see votes coming from either side of the issue. Certainly not enough of them to be swayed by whatever the PPA has to say. They either see the potential for increased tax revenues or they don’t. They address or ignore the issue accordingly and the PPA’s voice is just background noise along the way.

The future of the PPA

So what’s next for the PPA?

There’s no reference to the self-imposed March 31 deadline on its donation page. It does say the PPA cannot continue fighting for poker if it does not meet its fundraising goal of $25,000. But since people can presumably still donate, it looks like the pledge drive will continue.

It’s just a question of how long it will continue for. Particularly with the poker community having clearly joined state lawmakers around the country by tuning the organization out.

Its funding dried up. Its leader stepped down. The public all but ignored its cries for help. It’s probably time for the PPA to say goodbye. Unless, it can somehow take that $6,015 and use it to prove it can actually do something real and verifiable for poker in this country.

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