Wynn Las Vegas hosted the 2023 World Poker Tour(WPT) Ladies Championship. It was a $1,100 Buy-In No-Limit Hold’em tournament with 457 players and an initial $250,000 guarantee that later grew to a$443,290 pool. The event lasted for three days and Lisa Costello was the last player at the table bagging a $85,297 top prize, this being the biggest payout in her poker career.
Still, it was her 64th finish in the money bracket since 2011. Costello’s latest payout increased her lifetime poke winnings to about $270,000.
What Were the Tournament’s Top Prizes?
- Lisa Costello-$85,297
- Ashley Sleeth-$57,069
- Kathy Stahl-$43,686
- Chris Read-$34,220
- Aylar Lie-$26,480
- Ada Lang-$20,155
- Alida Veliu-$15,128
- Michelle Gibson-$11,058
The Final Day’s Action
Only eight players proceeded to the event’s final day with Sleeth being the stack leader and Costello third on the chip standings. Michelle Gibson and Alida Veliu got knocked out in the eighth and seventh positions respectively.
WPT started streaming the final table’s action after the duo exited. Ada Lang’s pocket nines lost to Chris Read’s A-K hence ending her run in sixth place with $20,155.
Costello’s A-J dominated Aylar Lie’s K-Q hence knocking her out in the fifth position with $26,480. Read won The Lodge Poker Club’s $500 Ladies tournament a few months ago. Yet, her A-Q suited lost a huge flip to Sleeth’s pocket nines.
The former was left with few big blinds. But, Read used K-9 to go all-in against Kathy Stahl’s K-Q. Read failed to recover her chips and left the table in fourth place.
Stahl used ADiamond SuitKDiamond Suit to move all-in against Costello’s JClub SuitJDiamond Suit hence getting in a tricky position. The board ran 10Heart Suit5Heart Suit2Diamond Suit3Club Suit2Spade Suit sending Stahl home in third place with $43,686. Reports indicate that she has about $210,000 in poker winnings now.
Even so, her elimination set up a tough match between Costello and Sleeth. Costello had a 9,675,000:4,050,000 chip lead that she extended briefly before Sleeth doubled up and increased her chips.
the latter used AClub Suit10Diamond Suit to make a button limp-shove in the event’s final hand while Costello used AHeart SuitQDiamond Suit to raise-call. The board ran 9Diamond Suit7Club Suit6Spade SuitKDiamond Suit5Heart Suit as Costello’s superior ace high secured the title and pot. It sent Sleeth packing as the runner-up with $57,069 and increased her poker earnings to $409,000.
Costello was elated when she received her prize. She informed Tim Fiorvanti from WPT that she had played poker for a long period. But, she hasn't been a full-time player for the last six years. Instead, she likes playing for fun and was glad to beat Sleeth, the World Series of Poker Circuit(WSOPC) winner in the latest tournament.
