"Winning the ladies' championship is the absolute dream come true," Isaacs said. "I think I probably wanted this more than any of the 104 ladies here today. I would not be a poker player if it were not for ladies' tournaments, and being an advocate of those events, I wanted to win the biggest one of all."
This is the fourth in-the-money finish at the World Series for Isaacs, who has accumualted total earnings of $59,265 and currently ranks No. 8 on the women's roster of all-time World Series money winners. A columnist for Card Player magazine, she also hold titles from several other major competitions.
Placing second in the ladies' championship event and winning $24,150 was Nikki Papler of Las Vegas. A poker dealer at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, Papler finished fourth in the women's tournament last year.
Esther Rossi, an investor and recreational poker play from Las Vegas, won third place and $12,600. She now has finished in the money four times at the Horseshoe's annual tournament, and with total earnings of $86,875, she ranks fifth on the women's list of all-time World Series money winners.
To date, 14 other women have finished in the money in open events, winning a total of $452,830. Of particular note are Barbara Enright and Annie Duke.
Enright, the only two-time Women's World Poker Champion, won the $2,500 buy-in pot-limit Texas Hold'em event held May 8. Her first palce award of $180,000 is the highest payoff for any woman in World Series history, and with total earnings of $350,960, she tops the women's roster of all-time tournament money winners.
Annie Duke has collected $95,363 for placing in two open events during this year's World Series. With nine in-the-money finishes -- more than any other woman -- and total earnings of $185,346, Duke holds down the No. 2 spot on the women's roster of all-time World Series money winners.
The $10,000 buy-in World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em competition begins today at noon and will run four consecutive days, ending on May 16 and concluding the 1996 World Series of Poker. More than 270 players, including reigning World Champion Dan Harrington, are expected to compete in the championship event, and $1 million is guaranteed to the winner.
