Turned on to Poker by an Earlier Tournament,
Michelle Murillo Easily Wins Ladies Event
She Starts Final Table with Chip Lead
And Remains Unstoppable After That
Stateline, NV—Michelle Murillo played her first ladies tournament in a LIPS event three years ago, made it to the fourth table, loved the challenge, and was forever turned on to poker after that. Tonight, playing in her fifth WSOP Circuit event at Harveys Lake Tahoe, she scored a decisive win in the $200 ladies tournament and excitedly collected $8,453 for her victory. She arrived at the final table with the chip lead, built it with aggressive play, and had more than 80 percent of the chips by the time the table got down to three players.
Murillo, 37, is a native of Norfolk, Virginia now living in Roseville, California where she is in project management. She is going to school for her MBA and eventually would like to teach part-time.
She won her seat into this event via satellite. Her playing style, she said, is passive/aggressive. In early going she was losing a lot of chips. Her breakthrough hand came when she was all in and doubled up with a nut straight. and then got more comfortable as she built her chips. Murillo usually plays small no-limit cash games, but plans to play more tournaments now. She had high praise for the dealers, describing them as "awesome."
This wasn't entirely a ladies event because they allowed a man named Paul Zerwal to play. His wife is a breast cancer survivor and he promised to donate 20 percent of any winnings to breast cancer research, but he only made it halfway through the field. The event attracted 145 ladies (I mean entrants) who generated a prize pool of $28,130.
The one-day event got down to the final nine after two players were knocked out at once. Blinds were 1,200-2,400 with 300 antes and 10:15 left at that level. The two big leaders were Murillo and Sheryl Nicholls with 112,000 and 100,000 chips respectively. After the usual entertaining introductions by final-table announcer Tom Sexton, action got underway at 10:30 p.m. As play progressed, Sexton regaled the table with colorful poker anecdotes. Incidentally, anyone interested in tapping into Sexton's huge store of poker lore should check out his website: SextonsCorner.com
Here were the final table chip counts:
Seat Name Chips
1. Betty Sue Bass 40,700
2. Beth Hoffman 26,900
3. Sheryl Nicholls 100,000
4. Deb Corradini 26,000
5. Lisa Darling 16,800
6. Marlo Snyder 26,900
7. Joline Burnside 60,000
8. Ida Siconolfi 59,000
9. Michele Murillo 112,000
There was one all-in at this level. Lisa Darling, the shortest-chipped at the table, survived by flopping a set of 8s. She would eventually make it all the way to second place.
All players were still around when blinds went to 1,500-3,000 and 400 antes. And then a remarkable hand came down. The flop was Jh-10s-Kh. Beth Hoffman moved in and Murillo called. Both turned over A-Q for Broadway straights. But Murillo's ace was a heart. Two runner-runner hearts gave her a nut flush, and Hoffman was suddenly out in ninth place. It paid $591.
Hoffman, 34, is an investor/entrepreneur from Glenbrook, Nevada. who learned poker in home games and started playing in tournaments this year in Tahoe. She's played nine Circuit tournaments and satellites and this is her poker highlight. She likes to ski, play tennis and hike. Her husband Todd is also a poker player.
A few hands later Deb Corradini, starting second-lowest in chips, was all in with A-J, a big underdog to Darling's A-K. A board of 9-7-6-Q-4 didn't help her, and Corradini exited eighth, which paid $816. Corradini, 47, is a mother of four from Naperville, Illinois. Her eldest son has been in the Navy for five years. She's been playing with friends for over 10 years, and this is her second final table.
Shortly after that, we had a set over set flop. It came K-J-2. An all-in Betty Sue Bass had pocket jacks and Joline "Tuba" Burnside had kings. Two baby cards came, and Bass, whose nickname is "Poker Granny" took home $1,097 for seventh. Granny is 64, from Lake Tahoe, California, and retired. She's been married 47 years and has four children and seven grandkids. She started playing poker three years ago, has entered a lot of Circuit events as well as WPT and Heartland tournaments. "I love the game," she declared.
Next out was Ida Siconolfi. On a flop of 10-J-7, she moved in with A-J and was called by Murillo, holding pocket 9s. An 8 turned, giving Murillo a straight, and Siconolfi, finishing sixth, pocketed $1,378. Siconolfi, 53, is retired and lives in San Jose, California
She started playing in family games and once won $75,000 in a Celebrity Poker charity event, with her winnings going to the Children's Health Fund.
As blinds went to 2,000-4,000 with 500 antes, Murillo held a big lead with about 200,000 of the 437,000 chips in play. She was now by far the most aggressive lady at the table, using her chip stacks for intimidation with incessant raises.
The tournament got down to four after Marlo Snyder moved in with K-J. Burnside called with A-7, winning with the bigger two pair when the board came A-3-9-J-3. Snyder, a teacher from Fair Oaks, California, went home with $1,786 for fifth. Snyder began playing poker four years ago in home games and this is her first Circuit attempt.
As the level neared an end. Murillo put in another of her constant raises, opening for 8,000 from the small blind. Burnside called from the button. The flop was 6d-Kd-As. Murillo checked. Burnside, holding A-8, bet 10,000 with her paired ace, and Murillo came over the top for 20,000 more. "You check-raised me?" Burnside exclaimed in shock. She finally called. The turn brought a 6c and Murillo moved in. After lengthy indecision, Burnside finally called. Murillo turned over A-K for top two, and Burnside was drawing dead. She finished fourth, celebrating her 61th birthday a week in advance by taking home $2,363.
Burnside is a dental technician from Santa Rosa, California who jokingly put down "hooker" as her prior occupation. She enjoys golf and her grandchildren, learned poker by "chasing chips," and wrote that meeting so many great women today was her poker highlight.
Players took a break, returning to blinds of 2,500-5,000 with 500 antes. Murillo now had 360,000 chips to a mere 22,000 for Darling and 55,000 for Nicholls. Darling immediately doubled through with A-Q to Murillo's K-Q, and the two short stacks hung on for a while, but the result was inevitable.
Nicholls, whose nickname is "Snickles," was the first to bow out. She moved in with pocket jacks. Murillo had an easy call with A-K and won the toss-up going away with two pair when the board came Q-K-Q-A-7. Third place paid $3,404.
Nichols, 48, originally from Australia, now lives in Dublin, California where she is a human resources manager. She took up poker to avoid being a poker widow, is married with no children but does have a cat named Fluffy, and this is her third Circuit.
A couple of hands later it was all over as Murillo once again made two pair. This time she had A-7 against Darling's K-10, winning easily when the board came Q-5-A-7-3.
Darling, who earned $4,951 for lasting to second place, is 29 and lives in Sacramento, California where she is a data entry operator. She's been playing a few years, this is her first Circuit try, and she also enjoys reading, music and her family. --Max Shapiro
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