World Poker Tour (TV Series 2003– ) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
On June 1st, 2002 Gus Hansen became the first ever World Poker Tour main event champion when he took down the inaugural Five Diamond World Poker Classic. In the nearly 15 years that have followed no female player had ever won an open WPT main event title. That all changed when Canadian cash game pro Ema Zajmovic emerged victorious from a field of 380 entries to capture the 2017 WPT Playground $3,500 CAD no-limit hold’em main event title.
- Model, actress, and television spokesperson Shana Hiatt is best known for hosting the first three seasons of the Travel Channel’s World Poker Tour from 2002 to 2005. Her fun and insightful commentary introduced many viewers to the exciting world of high stakes poker, the exotic locations, poker personalities, and interesting tidbits about the game.
- Three years ago, when Marin resident Kimberly Lansing was named the first female anchor of the World Poker Tour, the poker world swooned. Since then, media outlets have dubbed her 'the Bob Costas.
- Zajmovic finished fifth in the WPT Playground Poker Fall Classic that was eventually won by longtime WPT commentator and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton last November. Sexton had some words of.
- Amanda Leatherman is currently working with a webcast that interviews rising poker players and rose to stardom as a poker host. Apart from that, Amanda is also an exceptional actress who got featured in the movie Detention. Furthermore, she is also a part of the Tv series, The PokerStars.Net Big Game, and World Poker Tour.
“Honestly, I am really happy that I proved women can do it. The funniest and nicest part of this experience was all the women who came and were so supportive of me. It was amazing,” Zajmovic told World Poker Tour reporters after it was all over. “When I started playing poker, there was so much competition between girls. It was hard to be good and be supportive of each other. Now it has evolved so much and it is nice to see I had support from older women, younger women.”
For the win Zajmovic added her name not only to the history books but also to the WPT champions cup. She was also awarded a championship belt from the Playground Poker Club, the top prize of $261,000 CAD ($200,769 USD) and 900 Card Player Player of the Year points. As a result of the win Zajmovic was catapulted into 27th place on the POY leaderboard, which is brought to you in 2017 by Commerce Hotel & Casino.
Zajmovic finished fifth in the WPT Playground Poker Fall Classic that was eventually won by longtime WPT commentator and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton last November. Sexton had some words of praise for the Montreal native.
“I have the greatest respect for her. This is no fluke, in my opinion. We’re gonna be seeing a lot more of her in the future. She’s that good,” Sexton told WPT reporters.
Zajmovic came into the final day of this tournament as the chip leader with ten players remaining. By the time the official WPT six-handed final table was set she had increased her chip count but had fallen behind Tam Ho on the leaderboard.
Zajmovic was able to regain the chip lead during five handed play when she flopped a set holding the 1010 on a 1032 board. She got all on against 2014 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown champion Eric Afriat’s pocket aces after a 7 turn and secured a huge double up. Shortly afterward she knocked out Mekhail Mekhail in fifth place with her pocket kings holding up against his AJ.
Zajmovic sent Tam Ho to the rail in fourth place and then stacked Afriat’s last big blind after he was left crippled in a massive pot against Jean_Francois Bouchard. With that Zajmovic set up a heads-up showdown with Bouchard, who would begin with a 3-to-2 chip advantage.
The final two players battled it out for 62 hands. Zajmovic overtook the lead midway through and never looked back. On the final hand the two got all in preflop with Zajmovic holding the KQ and Bouchard the A9. The board ran out K107Q5 to give Zajmovic two pair and the pot. Bouchard was eliminated in second place, earning $169,270 CAD ($130,208 USD) for his deep run.
While Ema Zajmovic is the first ever female player to win an open field WPT main event, she is not the first ever female WPT event winner. Nine years ago Van Nguyen won the WPT Celebrity Invitational, a 445-entry event in 2008. For the win Nguyen took home $125,500 in that invitation-only event.
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Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
| 1 | Ema Zajmovic | $200,769 | 900 |
| 2 | Jean-Francois Bouchard | $130,208 | 750 |
| 3 | Eric Afriat | $83,608 | 600 |
| 4 | Tam Ho | $55,131 | 450 |
| 5 | Mekhail Mekhail | $42,462 | 375 |
| 6 | Jean-Pascal Savard | $35,146 | 300 |
| 7 | Danny Li | $29,446 | 225 |
| 8 | Carter Swidler | $24,000 | 150 |
| 9 | Ryan Yu | $18,554 | 75 |
Winners photo courtesy of Joe Giron / World Poker Tour.
Things were a bit different in the Rio on Friday as the halls were filled with hundreds of women ready to play some serious poker. The Ladies Championship kicked off in the morning and plenty of female cardsharps were out in force looking for their shot at poker glory.
PokerNews caught up with World Poker Tour host Lynn Gilmartin after the first break of the day for some insight into the tournament so far.
'It's going well actually,' she said. 'I chipped up pretty early and had almost 10,000 chips by the end of the first level. Then my table broke right as I had figured everyone out – I hate it when that happens. So now I'm on a new table and nothing much is happening, so I'm still sitting on about the same.'
Gilmartin broke into the game after working in casino marketing back in Australia, and got to see major poker tournaments first-hand. She then became an on-camera reporter for PokerNews, PokerStars.tv, and other outlets in 2009, along with other onscreen work covering events around the world. From the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific to the Aussie Millions to the European Poker Tour to the WSOP, Gilmartin has manned a microphone and seen the game from every angle.
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In 2013, she was named anchor and host of the WPT on Fox Sports and also worked on the Fox Sports 1 high roller 'Alpha8' show. While she loves poker, Gilmartin says her roles within the industry make it more difficult to get out and play. However, she does have a few small cashes on her poker resumé including a 2015 win in the €220 EPT-Barcelona women's event for $6,649.
'I just play for fun. I'm definitely not a full-time or super-regular player,' she says. 'I'm more a casual, fun-time player and I think I'm better off keeping it that way because of the emotional roller coaster.'
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'Ladies events feel like a safe place to enter.'
As the action heated up in the Amazon Room on Friday, Gilmartin was happy to be back at the tables enjoying herself and seeing so many other women betting and bluffing. These types of events help introduce many women into the poker world who may not be comfortable enough yet entering other mixed-gender tournaments.
'Ladies events feel like a safe place to enter,' she said. 'Especially if you're interested in playing and you're too intimidated by being outnumbered by all these men in the room – it can be kind of scary to walk into a poker room as a woman. I think the ladies event is a great way to kind of start off and ease yourself in. Personally, I love playing as a minority because I think we have an edge, but I think this is a good place to start.'
At her table, Gilmartin spoke with a few women who said it was their first time playing in a tournament. However, one player in the field may have had more experience than she was letting on to her tablemates. Ever the poker player, the rounder in question may have used inexperience as a way to look for a bit of an edge.
'A friend just told me that a woman sat down at her table and told the whole table it was her first tournament ever, and it definitely wasn't,' Gilmartin said with a laugh. 'She's like a pro. So some people I think are definitely trying to use that line.'
Detroit poker dealer Courtney Kennedy won the event in 2016, taking home $149,108 and a gold bracelet in her very first WSOP cash. Like many in the room, Gilmartin is hoping to snag some of her own success and bring home some big money – and some really shiny hardware.
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