Phil Hellmuth confers Friday with Annie Duke while she participates in the World Series of Poker at the Rio. Hellmuth, who was knocked out of the tournament in the early going, describes Duke as a "fearless" player. Photo by Jeff Scheid.
In "The Grand," a celebrity poker film being shot in Las Vegas, Woody Harrelson's character faces a woman for the title.
Insiders tell me she wins.
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Over at the Rio, site of the World Series of Poker, life soon might imitate art. Few doubt that the day is coming when a woman will rule the world of poker.
"Absolutely," said Phil Hellmuth, the 1989 winner of the Texas hold 'em main event.
A handful of tournament-tested female pros were still in the hunt Friday, the midway mark, as the WSOP field was being whittled from almost 9,000 to 600.
Annie Duke, Cyndy Violette and Kathy Liebert are among the five or six "capable of winning it all," said Doyle Brunson, the 1975 and 1976 main event winner.
"If the field was 50-50 (men and women), we'd dominate," said Susie Isaacs, who has a book coming out in January titled "Queens Can Beat Kings: Broadminded Poker."
Isaacs is the first woman to win back-to-back WSOP championships in the women's competition, taking titles in 1996 and 1997.
Hellmuth doesn't disagree that the final table would have a distinctly more feminine makeup if half the field was female. Women now make up only 3 percent of the entries.
"Annie Duke is fearless," Hellmuth said. "She knows the game, and she has all the different gears. She knows how to play fast."
Her weakness, Hellmuth said, "is she's focusing more on business than poker."
Violette has "great instincts, and she's also fearless," he added.
Violette, who had $110,000 in chips at the 3:30 p.m. break, said, "The key is you have to get lucky and stay lucky."
"Women play the female card," Brunson said, "and some do it better than others."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Hot spots, cool stuff: Cirque du Soleil's "Mystere" marks its 6,000th performance with Sunday's 7:30 p.m. show at Treasure Island. The 13-year run makes it the longest running Cirque show. A blowout after-party is planned. ... MTV's Vanessa Minnillo and Jesse Metcalfe of "Desperate Housewives" are co-hosting the "John Tucker Must Die" movie release party tonight at Pure (Caesars Palace). ... The cast of "La Femme," the MGM Grand's topless revue sister-show spinoff of the famed "Crazy Horse Saloon" in Paris, is appearing at the Palms' ghostbar on Tuesday for a meet-and-greet from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
SIGHTINGS
Celebrating USA Basketball's lopsided 114-69 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday at Tryst (Wynn): LeBron James,Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Elton Brand, Brad Miller, Scottie Pippen and Marcus Banks. Also at Tryst: Toni Braxton, Kevin James and Xzibit. ... Actress Angie Harmon, lunching and lounging at the Venus pool (Caesars Palace) on Friday with friends. ... Harrah's headliner Braxton, chatting with Magic Johnson on the VIP stage at Pure (Caesars Palace) on Thursday at her opening night after-party. Among others walking the red carpet: Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton, the Scintas and Shanice Wilson.
THE PUNCH LINE
"(Mel Gibson) could face up to six months in prison. Life, if he gets a Jewish judge." -- Jay Leno
