WSOP | Tournaments | Event Updates
Auto Refresh Rate:
Competition:
GO

2012 43rd Annual World Series of Poker

Friday, June 29, 2012 to Sunday, July 01, 2012

Event #51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship

download official reportdownload official winner photo
  • Buy-in: $1,000
  • Prizepool: $842,400
  • Entries: 936
  • Remaining: 0

EVENT UPDATES

view updates for day:
Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:41 PM Local Time

Yen Dang is the WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner in the Ladies Event.

What a final day here in the Pavilion Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. After building a big stack on Day 2 and challenging for the lead for much of the day, then grabbing the advantage during the final table, Yen Dang has emerged from a field of 936 as this year's Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Champion!

Debbie Pechac, Candida Ross-Powers, and Dang began with the big stacks, and ultimately two of those three would play down to the tourney's final hand. Meanwhile a few players — including Angela Prada-Moed, Jan Howard, and Rosemary Lawrence — returned to relative short stacks.. And in the early going, Rae Rocco would find her stack depleted as well, all of which led to a lot of all-in shoves in the early going.

As it happened, Sweden's Ida Lundholm would be the first to fall in ninth not long after Jan Howard doubled through her to leave Lundholm on a short stack. Rosemary Lawrence would follow Howard to the rail shortly thereafter in eighth when her    failed to improve against Candida Ross-Powers's   .

Two more eliminations came shortly after Lawrence's. First Lesley Amos was ousted in seventh after flopping two pair with    but running into Yen Dang's Broadway straight. Then Rae Rocco hit the rail in sixth when her pocket tens failed to hold against the    of Debbie Pechac.

Pechac began today with the chip lead, and became the first player to 1 million chips shortly after knocking out Rocco. Pechac maintained her lead as she watched Yen Dang knock out Candida Ross-Powers in fifth when the latter's    failed hold against Dang's   .

Pechac's fortunes would soon change, however, after a hand versus Jan Howard in which the latter pulled into a virtual tie with Pechac for first. Then a huge hand developed between Pechac and Dang in which Dang was all in before the flop with    versus Pechac's   , and when the board brought two aces Dang suddenly had more than 1.5 million while Pechac had slipped below 200,000.

The bustouts slowed at that point, with the final four battling for some time before a short-stacked Angela Prada-Moed shoved with pocket nines, but unfortunately ran into Dang's    to go out in fourth. Three-handed play again saw the pace slow, with Jan Howard's stack gradually getting whittled down before she'd lose an all-in with    versus Dang's pocket nines to finish third.

Heads-up play between Pechac and Dang would then last about a dozen hands, with Dang enjoying the advantage throughout. Finally, after Dang flopped a pair versus Pechac's open-ended straight draw, the latter's chips went all in and Dang's hand held to give her the title.

Dang is giving interviews at the moment, describing her journey from being a law student to learning the game to achieving one of the most desired milestones in all of poker — to win a WSOP bracelet!

Thanks for following our coverage of Event 51: $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship, and be sure to stick with PokerNews for coverage of every WSOP event down to the Main Event — starting in less than a week!

Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:28 PM Local Time

Debbie Pechac - 2nd place

After about a dozen hands of heads-up play, Yen Dang still enjoyed the chip advantage with which she began when she opened with a raise to 75,000 from the button. Debbie Pechac then reraised to 200,000, and Dang called.

The flop came     and after just a few seconds Pechac announced she was all in. Dang took a look across the table, then said she was calling.

Pechac:   
Dang:   

Dang had a pair of queens, while Pechac was hoping to fill an open-ended straight draw. The turn was the  , no good to Pechac. Her supporters rose, calling for either an ace or nine, but the river brought the  .

The chips were counted down just to make sure, but Dang indeed had Pechac covered, thus putting an end to another great ladies event run for Pechac. After finishing 21st and 14th in this event before, Pechac made it all of the way to second this year and a six-figure score.

Yen Dang2,800,0001,050,000
Debbie Pechac0-1,050,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:17 PM Local Time

Debbie Pechac limped from the button and Yen Dang checked. The flop came    . Dang checked, Pechac bet 100,000, Dang check-raised to 300,000, and without much hesitation Pechac pushed all in for 805,000 total. Dang thought for a few moments, then let her hand go.

Yen Dang1,750,000-330,000
Debbie Pechac1,050,000330,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:08 PM Local Time

After trading a few small pots to start heads-up play, Yen Dang limped from the small blind/button, and Debbie Pechac checked her option.

The flop came    . Pechac led for 60,000, and Dang called. The turn was the  , and again Pechac led out with a bet, for 100,000 this time. Dang again made the call.

The river was the  . Pechac bet one more time, pushing out 100,000 chips, and Dang called once more. Dang showed    for treys full of tens, and Pechac turned over her hand —    for a lesser full house.

Yen Dang2,080,000310,000
Debbie Pechac720,000-310,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:01 PM Local Time

Yen Dang begins heads-up play with the chip lead.

Yen Dang1,770,000270,000
Debbie Pechac1,030,000-20,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander
Sunday, July 1, 2012 6:00 PM Local Time

Jan Howard - 3rd place

Jan Howard open-pushed her stack of 305,000 from the button with   , and Yen Dang called from the small blind with   .

The flop came    . The   on the turn was no help to Howard either. The river then brought the  , and Howard's tournament run has ended in third place.

We're heads up!

Jan Howard0-322,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:57 PM Local Time

After limping in from the small blind, Jan Howard saw Yen Dang reraise all in from the big blind and Howard called for 139,000 total.

Howard had    and Dang   , and after the board came      , Howard had doubled her short stack.

Yen Dang1,500,000-150,000
Jan Howard322,000168,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:49 PM Local Time

Debbie Pechac limped from the small blind and Jan Howard checked her option. The flop came    . Pechac bet 60,000, and Howard called. The turn brought the   and another bet from Pechac, this time for 100,000, and Howard called again.

The river brought the   and a similar sequence — a 100,000 bet from Pechac, and a rather quick call by Howard. Pechac showed    for a pair of treys, good enough as Howard had but ace-high with   .

Yen Dang1,650,00010,000
Debbie Pechac1,050,000385,000
Jan Howard154,000-386,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:39 PM Local Time

We're seeing Yen Dang gradually whittling away at both of her opponent's stacks as she extends her lead. Dang now has about a one million-chip lead over both Jan Howard and Debbie Pechac who are currently battling for second position.

The latter pair changed positions on the leaderboard just now in a hand when Pechac opened for 62,000 from the small blind and Howard called from the big blind.

The flop came all babies —     — and when Pechac checked, Howard bet 40,000. Pechac then check-raised to 100,000, and Howard folded.

Debbie Pechac665,000100,000
Jan Howard540,000-100,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:26 PM Local Time
Level: 24
Blinds: 12000/24000
Ante: 4000
Gorilla Gaming
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:22 PM Local Time
Yen Dang1,430,000-40,000
Jan Howard820,000-200,000
Debbie Pechac570,000142,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 5:08 PM Local Time

We've returned to small pots and not too much action during three-handed play. To illustrate, the last orbit...

Debbie Pechac limped from the small blind and Jan Howard checked in the big blind. Both checked the     flop. The turn brought the  , and a bet of 50,000 from Pechac earned a fold from Howard.

On the next hand, Yen Dang got a walk.

Then Dang limped from the small blind and Pechac checked. Both checked the     flop and   turn, then Dang bet 25,000 following the   river card and Pechac folded.

Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:57 PM Local Time

Yen Dang limped in from the small blind, and Debbie Pechac checked her option. The flop came    , and when Dang checked, Pechac pushed out a bet of 25,000. Dang responded with an all-in push, and Pechac called right away.

Dang:   
Pechac:   

Dang had gotten sneaky with aces, but Pechac had made the "Brunson" work for her as she'd flopped trip tens. (Ten-deuce was the hand with which Doyle Brunson won the WSOP Main Event in both 1976 and 1977, in the first instance suited spades.)

The   on the turn made life a little less easy for Pechac, giving Dang a flush draw. But the river was the   and Pechac doubled up.

Yen Dang1,470,000-100,000
Debbie Pechac428,000216,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:53 PM Local Time

Jan Howard raised on the button to 60,000 and got a call from Debbie Pechac in the small blind.

Both checked the     flop. The turn was the  . Pechac bet 50,000, and Howard called. The river brought the   and another bet from Pechac, this time for 100,000. Howard called quickly, tabling   . Her deuces were good, as Pechac had    for busted flush and straight draws.

Jan Howard1,020,000253,000
Debbie Pechac212,000-238,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:45 PM Local Time
Yen Dang1,570,000200,000
Jan Howard767,000-36,000
Debbie Pechac450,000-11,000
Playtika - Jason Alexander
Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:40 PM Local Time

Angela Moed - 4th place

Down to 248,000, Angela Prada-Moed checked her cards from under the gun and pushed her stack forward, raising all in. It folded to Yen Dang who checked her cards and immediately announced she was calling.

Prada-Moed had picked up   , but she'd run into Dang's   . The situation brightened for a moment for Prada-Moed following the monotone flop —     — giving her flush outs to go along with the two remaining nines. But the turn was the   and river the  , and we are down to three.

Angela Prada-Moed0-293,000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:35 PM Local Time

Level 23 is underway. With the earlier bustouts, supporters of the eliminated players have left along with the players, meaning the crowd here to watch four-handed play has thinned somewhat. They've grown quiet, too, as we're again seeing a sequence of hands falling into one of two categories — raise-and-take (ending preflop), or limped and either checked down or claimed with a single post-flop bet.

The increase in blinds and antes this level may well be forcing someone to get aggressive soon, the most likely candidate being the short stack, Angela Prada-Moed.

Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:27 PM Local Time
Level: 23
Blinds: 10000/20000
Ante: 3000
Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:09 PM Local Time

Reaching the end of Level 22, the final four have left for another 20-minute break.

Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:06 PM Local Time

Here's how the stacks look as we near the end of the level.

Yen Dang1,370,000-110,000
Jan Howard803,00028,000
Debbie Pechac461,00036,000
Angela Prada-Moed293,000-2,000
Gorilla Gaming
1