Howl of the Wulfe
Courtney Wulfe Wins the 2009 Cleopatra Open
*Las Vegas, NV (April 26, 2009) - *The 2009 Cleopatra Open concluded today
at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. The $300 buy-in ladies-only poker tournament
attracted 115 entries. It has become a custom for all WSOP Circuit events
to hold a special tournament for ladies-only who prefer playing in their own
event.
The winner was Courtney Wulfe, from Houston, TX. She was one of
the lower stacks when final table play began on the second of the two-day
event. But Wulfe ended up defeating Kathryn Meeks in heads-up play, who
finished second. Wulfe earned $8,868 in prize money.
After Vanessa Peng, from Las Vegas, busted out in tenth place, the top nine
finishers were as follows:
*9th Place - *Lisa G. Bartlett, from upstate New York, was the ninth place
finisher. This was her first time to appear at a WSOP Circuit final table.
Bartlett received a payout totaling $920.
*8th Place** - *Siriwan Sukmekerd, aka 'Magnets Lady' finished in eight
place. The travel agent from Las Vegas earned $1,088. Previously,
Sukmekerd won a ladies tournament held at the Golden Nugget and was the
runner up at the LIPS poker championship last year.
*7th Place** - *Dorianne May, who is currently serving in the US Army,
finished in seventh place. May, who is stationed in California, pocketed
$1,339.
*6th Place** - *Sixth place went to Laura Wakeland. She arrived at the
final table as the player with the most impressive tournament track record.
Wakeland has over $80,000 in career tournament winnings to date, including
two previous cashes in WSOP Circuit events. She ended up collecting $1,673
in prize money.
*5th Place** -* Deb Snead took fifth place. The lady with the unusual
nickname 'Sock Monkey' works as an educator in Colorado. Snead received
$2,092. Snead is another player who has performed well in the past, with
final tables made in various events in Gilpin (Colorado) and Las Vegas.
*4th Place** -* Garilyn 'G' Nelson was the fourth-place finisher. This was
a back-to-back final table for the microbiologist from Utah. At last year's
Cleopatra Open, 'G' finished fifth. She also cashed last year in the ladies
championship held at Harvey's Lake Tahoe. Fourth place paid $2,677.
*3rd Place** -* Christina Bui, a waitress from Dallas, TX finished in third
place. She was served up $3,430 in prize money.
*2nd Place** -* The runner up was Kathryn Meeks, from Anthem, AZ. Meeks has
been a strong advocate of women in poker. She was one of the founding
members of the Women's Poker Hall of Fame. She is also active in the World
Poker Association. Meeks has also previously cashed at events at Harvey's
Lake Tahoe and in Los Angeles. Meeks was paid $5,354 for second place.
*1st Place** - *The winner of the 2009 Cleopatra Open was Courtney Wulfe. In
addition to nearly nine-grand in prize money, Wulfe was presented with the
custom-designed ladies gold pendant, the ultimate achievement for winning a
ladies championship on the WSOP Circuit.
With 21 of 22 events now completed at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, the
tournament has attracted more than 3,000 total entries and has awarded over
$3 million in total prize money. The WSOP Circuit continues at Caesars
through April 30th.
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