Press Release for the Commerce
By Debbie Burkhead
Commerce Casino began a tradition this year at the annual Ladies Poker Dream Weekend by awarding the first championship signature pendant to the Best-All-Around player. The weekend included three events: a $3,500 limit hold’em freeroll for a nominal $10 entry fee; a $60 buy-in seven-card stud competition to which the house added $2,000 to the prize pool; and a $60 buy-in limit hold’em event to which the house also added $2,000 to the prize pool. The Commerce provided the ladies with a delightful three-day weekend that included a lovely gift with every buy-in along with a theme buffet prior to each event. Beautiful Armani trophies were awarded to the first-place winners of both $60 buy-in events.
The $3,500 limit hold’em freeroll held Friday, August 31, drew a record-breaking 227 entrants from as far away a Louisiana. Roxine Behrens from Manhattan Beach, California outlasted the huge field, took home $1,295, and a beautiful Armani trophy, and earned 50 points to take the lead in the best-all-around award race. And the rest of the money finishers were:
2nd Shauna Madrigal West Hollywood, CA $665
3rd Chris Wong Baton Rouge, LA $315
4th Marie Paul Pasadena, CA $210
5th Pam Aguirre Pasadena, CA $140
6th Chris Bukna West Covina, CA $123
7th Lucy Rossling Simi Valley, CA $105
8th Susie Isaacs Las Vegas, NV $95
9th Jan Somchub Hawthorne, CA $81
10th-12th received $63; 13th-15th received $52; and 16th- 18th received $42.
The $60 seven-card stud event held Saturday, September 1, drew 100 entrants for another record-breaker creating a $7,000 prize pool that included the $2,000 added by the house. Commerce’s own, prop player Niki Andrews from Dana Point, California took first place adding $2,800 to her bankroll, taking home the Armani trophy and earning 50 points toward the best-all-around award. Andrews is a seasoned stud player but admits to being a novice when it comes to tournament play. The rest of the money finishers were:
2nd Christine Nabhani Chicago, IL $1,400
3rd Marie Sohn Downey, CA $700
4th Jan Williams Cerritos, CA $420
5th Sharon Norman Riverside, CA $350
6th Maidi Zusman Quail Valley, CA $280
7th Irene Williams Culver City, CA $210
8th Angie Marquez Alhambra, CA $140
9th Linda Johnson Las Vegas, NV $105
10th Debbie Burkhead Las Vegas, NV $105
11th Cherie Gibson Anaheim, CA $105
12th Sherry Hammers Moreno Valley, CA $105
13th-16th received $70
The third and final event on Sunday, September 2, was a $60 limit hold’em conpetition that attracted 120 entrants taking the prize pool to $8,000 including the $2,000 added by the house. This time a Las Vegas resident, Jo Ann Siegel, was declared the winner taking home $2,960 and a lovely Armani trophy. The money finishers went like this:
2nd Jeri Lynn Lee Moreno Valley, CA $1,520
3rd Julia Meyers San Jose, CA $720
4th Joaseitte Tanaka San Pedro, CA $480
5th Niki Andrews Dana Point, CA $320
6th Angelina Fratzke Fullerton, CA $280
7th Betty Tanenbaum Las Vegas, NV $240
8th Mila Ng Northridge, CA $216
9th Shari Egigian Anaheim, CA $184
10th-12th received $144; 13th-15th received $120; and 16th-18th received $96.
Niki Andrews clinched the best-all-around award immediately when she made the final table. When the field was narrowed to 13 players there were still two players, besides Andrews, who could win the best-all-around. Chris Wong’s hopes were crushed when she was eliminated in 13th place; Betty Tannebaum was still in contention with 14 points and Andrews had 50 points plus a minimum of 10 points even if she was knocked out in 12th place for a total of 62. When the 12th player was eliminated, Andrews had secured enough points to be assured the Best-All-Award. Andrews finished in fifth place earning her a total of 82 points, a second beautiful Armani trophy, the exquisite championship pendant and bragging rights. The tradition has begun; Andrews should be very proud, she played like a true champion.
The three-day tournament is designed to increase female participation by offering them a fun, rewarding, and intimidation-free environment. Novice players are made to feel welcome and the more experienced players including Barbara Enright, Barbara Gold, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, Suzanne Carter, Nancy Nevits, Debbie Burkhead, Jan Fisher and Carolyn Gardner find the time to support the Commerce on its effort.
To add to the fun, Tournament Director Cheri Dokken selects various players from each event to be a bounty. The player who is responsible for eliminating the bounty player is given a choice of grab bag gifts. Also, a gift was offered to the oldest lady in the tournament and that lady happened to be 91-year-old Roxaine Leabow who also was celebrating her 72nd wedding anniversary. Her 90-year-old husband was in the main casino playing poker while she played the tournament.
The popularity of ladies tournaments in California was apparent this year with the support of other local casinos. For instance, the Bicycle Casino was represented by 25 of its employees and owner Haig Kelegian generously outfitted them with logo’d sweater ensembles. Ocean’s Eleven was represented by Billie Brown, Star McCormick, Suzanne Carter, Robin Gibbons, Natalie Zadi and Espy Enriquez. Ocean’s Eleven donated three paid seats into its upcoming tournament scheduled for September 20-24. The seats were awarded to players who were eliminated on the bubble in each event.
For the second year in a row, Marketing Director Nancy Friedman made a royal flush. Twenty minutes into the first event Friedman made a royal flush and she didn’t even need to look at her cheat sheet to realize she had a big hand. I happened to be seated at the table next to Friedman’s and about 10 minutes later another player made a straight flush. At that point I stood up and asked, “Are you guys playing with a pinochle deck? We’re having a hard time making a pair over here.” My comment got a big chuckle and play resumed. That’s just a sample of the fun and camaraderie that goes on at the ladies events.
For those of you who remember last year’s winner, Anna Kazarian and her amazing win, will be glad to know she was there and although, her luck didn’t run as good as last year she did place in the money in the $60 limit hold’em event.
The annual Ladies Poker Dream Weekend held at Commerce Casino was once again a huge success. Congratulations to Tournament Director Cheri Dokken and her excellent staff for providing the ladies another wonderful three-day tournament weekend.
Commerce would like to thank all the ladies for your support, and they look forward to seeing you at next year’s Dream Weekend. They would also like to congratulate their very own Niki Andrews for her outstanding performance.
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