Final female sent to rail in WSOP Main Event

A volatile game, poker can bust bankrolls and bury dreams. It also can work wonders for a player’s career, as Jackie Glazier has discovered.

About five years ago, Glazier was a service advisor for Ford Motor Company in Melbourne, Australia. Her husband, Jamie, was invited to a home poker game, and she was told women were not invited.

Undeterred, she did Internet research on how to play, and eventually got her foot in the door.

“I taught myself the game,” she said. “I played some home games, and I just decided I could do it.”

In 2008, her live tournament cashes totaled $722. But she soon took off as a professional player, and on Sunday night, Glazier was the last woman standing in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Under the bright lights of the ESPN stage at the Rio Convention Center, Glazier was moving in on a major accomplishment. The only woman to make the Main Event final table was Barbara Enright in 1995.

“This is a legitimate female player,” said Seth Palansky, vice president of corporate communications for Caesars Interactive Entertainment, which owns the WSOP. “She cashed in the Main Event last year, and she cashed three years ago. She can play.”

At 10 p.m., however, Glazier’s tournament ended. Sitting behind 4,225,000 in chips, she pushed all-in with A-Q against Sergio Castelluccio, who called immediately with a pair of 10s. The flop showed three 9s, and she was sent to the rail after the turn and river cards (5, K).

“A lot of people were rooting for her, that’s for sure,” a male fan said as Glazier left the stage to a loud round of applause.

Glazier finished 31st and cashed for $229,281. At 10:30, tournament officials called it a night with the field down to 27.

“I would hope I’m getting better every year,” Glazier said. “The runs are getting deeper. I try not to get too excited or too down in the dumps about how things are going.”

The seventh day of play in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship will resume at noon today. The final table of nine players, who advance to competition Nov. 4 and 5, is expected to be set late tonight.

Anton Morgenstern, from Berlin, Germany, is the leader with almost 22 million in chips after a big win on the night’s final hand.

Sylvain Loosli bagged 14,125,000 for second position, and Chris Lindh of Las Vegas had 12,035,000.

Carlos Mortensen, the Main Event winner in 2001 and the only former champion remaining in the field, stands sixth with 10,790,000.

Steve Gee, who the first player eliminated from last year’s final table, still is alive with 3,160,000. The last player to make back-to-back final tables was Dan Harrington in 2003 and 2004.

In Level 29, the last level played Sunday, the antes were 10,000 with the small blind at 50,000 and the big blind at 100,000.

“The chips are so big, what usually happens at this stage is everyone is more cautious,” Palansky said. “Premium hands collide and that creates the great pots, and you see guys out of here quickly.”

There were 298 female entrants in the Main Event, 4.7 percent of the field of 6,352 players.

Glazier went into Sunday with 4,045,000 in chips, putting her 12th on the leader board. Her stack was cut in half early in the day, but she went all-in five times, and survived three calls, to take 3,730,000 to the dinner break.

“She lost right away, and that put her in a short position,” Palansky said. “I’m actually surprised she was still here at this point. She managed to hang on.”

Glazier is the highest-profile woman playing poker professionally in Australia, and her bankroll and resume just improved.

“It’s different in Australia,” she said. “When I come here, there are a lot more women getting more attention than me.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.