Vanessa Hellebuyck Wins WSOP Ladies Championship Event
Vanessa Hellebuyck was the winner of the $1,000 buy-in Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the 2010 World Series of Poker. This marked not only Hellebuyck's first career WSOP gold bracelet victory, but was also her first time ever to cash in Las Vegas.Hellebuyck lives in Paris, France. She is married and has two children. She final tabled three major events on the European Poker Tour (EPT) held earlier this year, in Berlin, San Remo, and Monaco. Her best finish to this point had been a fifth-place showing in Monaco. In addition to being a serious part-time poker player, Hellebuyck is also an accomplished pianist.
Hellebuyck collected $192,132 for first place. She also became only the second non-American ever to win the Ladies Championship. The first was Svetlana Gromenkova from Russia, who won in 2008. Hellebuyck also became the fifth gold bracelet winner in WSOP history from France. The other four winners were David Benyamine, Patrick Bruel, Claude Cohen, and Gilbert Gross.
This year's Ladies Championship attracted another strong turnout, as 1,054 players attended. The tournament began with former WSOP gold bracelet winner Linda Johnson, the "First Lady of Poker," welcoming the huge field and encouraging more women to participate in and enjoy the game of poker. Johnson also mentioned the WSOP Ladies Championship held 30 years ago was a turning point in her life. After cashing in that 1980 competition, Johnson decided to play poker professionally and went on to pioneer many important causes that improved the game for everyone, male and female alike.
Indeed, the World Series of Poker is proud to honor women in poker and will maintain the tradition of holding a Ladies Championship event, which dates back to 1977.
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by Nolan Dalla
posted by Kurt at 8:50 PM
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