Barbara Brown Harney Wins Ladies Poker Championship at Harvey's Lake Tahoe
Poker Tournament Veteran Outlasts Record Field and Beats Tough Final Table
Stateline, NV - A record crowd turned out for the Ladies Poker Championship at this year's World Series of Poker Circuit stop, which was held at the Harvey's Lake Tahoe Casino and Resort. The 156 entries marked the largest turnout for a ladies poker tournament in the four years since the WSOP Circuit has been played at Lake Tahoe. In fact, the high number is believed to be a record for any ladies event ever held in Northern Nevada.
The 2007 Harvey's Lake Tahoe Ladies Champion is Barbara Brown Harney. Aside from poker, she is quite multi-talented. Ms. Harney is an artist and glass fuser. She does project design and is involved in construction-related work. She is also the mother of two teenage boys. It took Ms. Harney about 11 hours to overcome the large field.
Play began promptly at 2 pm. By half past midnight, Ms. Harney had every single chip in the tournament in her stack and received hearty congratulations from her opponents and a large crowd of spectators gathered around the final table on the second floor of the casino.
Winning was not easy. After 146 players were eliminated over the first eight hours of play, ten survivors returned to the feature table to battle for the championship. Sally Royce enjoyed her status as the chip leader, with Nancy Campos in second place. The eventual winner, Ms. Brown started off in sixth place. Players and chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: Julie Parker 27,600
Seat 2: Lori Fields 15,700
Seat 3: Karie Nelson 4,800
Seat 4: Ronda Cook 43,200
Seat 5: Wendy Shoemaker 18,500
Seat 6: Nancy Campos 51,300
Seat 7: Terri Solis 23,900
Seat 8: Barbara Brown Harney 19,700
Seat 9: Yvette Mongkovares 8,800
Seat 10:Sally Royce 67,000
Players were eliminated in the following order:
10th place - This was Wendy Shoemaker's first live poker tournament in a casino. She outlasted more than 90 percent of the field, a remarkable achievement. Perhaps this was due, in part, to Ms. Showmaker's training as a psychologist. Tenth place paid $454.
9th Place - Yvette Mongkolvares went out next. 'Poker Baby,' as she is better known, plays in many local tournaments here in the Lake Tahoe and Reno area. She took $635 for ninth place.
8th Place - Next, Lori Fields took an unwanted position along the rail. The accountant from Marysville, CA had won a number of poker tournaments, including a $25,000 win at her local hangout, the Gold Country Casino. Here at the WSOP Circuit, she had to accept eighth-place prize money totaling $877.
7th Place - Julie Parker has an interesting livelihood. She collects antique and vintage clothing. She also plays poker pretty well, as evidenced by her sixth-place showing in this event. Ms. Parker collected $1,180.
6th Place - Play tightened up a bit as players traded chips back and forth for the next hour. Finally, Ronda Cook went out next and was forced to settle for sixth place. The consultant from Sacramento, who has won a few small daily tournaments in Las Vegas and elsewhere, picked up $1,483 in prize money.
5th Place - The five survivors continued avoid possible confrontations. Another half hour passed before the next bust out. That player turned out to be Karie Nelson. The educator and graduate student from Stockton, CA and mother of four children earned $1,922 for her fifth-place finish.
4th Place - Sally Royce went out next and took fourth place. This was her first major poker event, and her performance was quite impressive. The advertising executive from Cameron Park, CA collected $2,542.
3rd Place - Nancy Campos arrived second in the chip count when play was ten-handed. She lasted for over three hours but finally busted out in third place. Ms. Campos, a property manager from Chico, CA and mother of five, received $3,662 in prize money.
2nd Place - Heads-up play lasted for about twenty minutes. The tournament came to an abrupt end when Terri Solis' J-10 was busted by Ms. Harney's K-J. Neither player made a pair, but Ms. Harney held higher cards - and won. Terri Solis, a cook from Michigan, earned $5,326. Remarkably, at one point in the tournament she was down to a single $25 chip. She staged an amazing comeback and collected over five-grand in what was clearly the sentimental story of the day.
1st Place - While this was easily Ms. Harney's most prestigious tournament victory, it was not her first. She has won three tournaments at various casinos and also won one playing online. For first place, she received $9,094 in prize money. Perhaps just as satisfying, over the next year Barbara Brown Harney will enjoy bragging rights at the '2007 Harvey's Lake Tahoe Ladies Poker Champion.'
The tournament was held over a busy holiday weekend. Since this year's tournament series began last Friday, the poker room and adjacent area has been standing-room only, as what tables were not used in tournament play were filled to capacity with cash games. The WSOP Circuit events continue through November 18th.
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