Trish Macks Becomes Poker's Cajon Queen
New Orleans-Area Saleslady Closes the Deal and Wins Her First Tournament Ever
New Orleans, LA (December 7, 2008) - The eighth event on the 2008 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge schedule was the Ladies Championship, unofficially known as the Cajon Queen Classic. The newest queen of poker is Trish Macks, from nearby Mandeville, LA. Incredibly, it was only the second time Mrs. Macks had played in a poker tournament. She topped a field of 113 players and collected first-place prize money totaling $7,102. Mrs. Macks was also presented with a gold and diamond pendant, the traditional coveted prize awarded to the ladies poker champion in New Orleans.
The $230 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em competition was held inside the special events center at the Harrah's New Orleans Casino. As a part of the High Heels Poker Tour (a national organization which actively promotes women in poker), the one-day tournament generated a total prize pool of $21,922. The tournament's top 18 finishers collected prize money. The final table consisting of ten players took about two hours to complete. Players finished in the following order:
10th Place - Phylis Blanton, who works for Sun West Excavation and lives in Caddo Mills, TX. She also took 4th place in a previous ladies event in New Orleans and took 6th place in a $1,000 buy-in tournament in Reno.
9th Place - Arlene Dujmovich, a homemaker from Katy, TX. She also enjoys horseracing and is the mother of two children.
8th Place - Tina Tellone, a director of sales and marketing from Plantation, FL. She noted that she loves the High Heels Poker Tour.
7th place - Paris Delaureal, an accounting clerk from Harvey, LA. She also made it to a final table at a previous WPT ladies tournament.
6th Place - Kim Nguyen, a student from Houston, TX.
5th Place - Nancy Decuers, a certified public accountant from New Orleans, LA. She was the runner up in the 2007 WSOP Circuit ladies championship.
4th Place - Joanne Ketch, a poker host and tutor from Katy, TX. She plays host to the Snaowman Poker League, which is active in the Houston area.
3rd Place - Peg Ledman, a former professional billiards player, from Gallatin, TN. She also finished in fourth place at the 2007 WSOP Circuit held in Tunica, MS.
2nd Place - Judy Rhodes, a rental property manager from Houma, LA. This was her best tournament finish ever.
1st Place - Trish Marks, a saleslady from Mandeville, LA. She has tow children and in addition to poker, she enjoys cooking and sewing.
The Bayou series continues through next Wednesday. The $5,000 main event championship begins on Monday.
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