Nine Ladies, One Bracelet
Begun in 1977 as a seven-card stud event, the Ladies Event -- just like the WSOP as a whole -- has grown by leaps and bounds over the decades.
Just a handful of women entered that first event, won by Jackie McDaniels. In 1990, the total field size crossed the 100-player mark for the first time, with Marie Gabert coming out best of the 110 who played. In 1992, the buy-in was upped from $500 to $1,000 (where it has remained since), causing a brief dip in numbers. But by the mid-1990s they were back in triple digits.
In 2000, the WSOP changed the event from stud to a mixed limit hold'em/stud event, and Nani Dollison would win the next two Ladies Events back-to-back, becoming the third woman to win two Ladies Events titles along with Poker Hall of Famer Barbara Enright (1986, 1994) and Susie Isaacs (1996, 1997).
In 2004 the event was played as limit hold'em only. A record 204 women participated that year, with Hung Doan winning. In 2005, the game was switched to no-limit hold'em, and as we saw elsewhere at the WSOP, there was a boom in entries. At total of 601 came out to play that year, with actress Jennifer Tilly the victor. The field size peaked in 2007, with Sally Anne Boyer emerging from a field of 1,286 women to claim the bracelet.
This year's event drew 1,054 entries, and today just nine return. Sidsel Boesen of Denmark begins the final table with the chip advantage. Come back at 3 p.m. Vegas time to see how this year's chapter in the Ladies Event story concludes!