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Ladies Poker Week in Las Vegas Shows Mixed Numbers

Written by: Jennifer Newell
This year, Ladies Poker Week started with the Wynn Ladies Championship on June 17 and ended with the WSOP Ladies Championship final table on July 1.
Shiina Okamoto winning Ladies Championship

Ladies Poker Week, as many women call it, is now more like two weeks. There are tournaments in nearly every poker tournament series around Las Vegas, from Wynn to Venetian, Aria to South Point, Resorts World to Orleans, and Golden Nugget to Westgate. Of course, there is also the WSOP Ladies Championship, which was the event that started it all years ago and upon which the other women-only events were built.

Some tournaments saw women’s participation increase this year, while the Golden Nugget, Wynn, and WSOP saw a decrease in the number of entries. The results are a mixed bag of entries and a sign that the tournament organizers may want to consolidate the women-only events into a shorter period of time next year.

Growth in Many Events

More than half of the women-only poker events across Las Vegas did see year-on-year growth in attendance. Let’s take a look at the numbers that tell the story.

Note that some of the events played in coordination with LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) and comprised what they called Ladies Poker Summer Camp. Two of the events were hosted by PLON (Poker League of Nations) and not listed on the Ladies Poker Summer Camp schedule.

  • 2024 $250 buy-in LIPS MGM Ladies Kickoff at MGM Grand ($20K GTD)
    • 204 entries (up from 162 entries in 2023)
    • $41,820 prize pool (up from $28,760 in 2023)
    • Natalja Howel won for $10,315
  • 2024 $400 buy-in Orleans Ladies Championship at the Orleans ($40K GTD)
    • 147 entries (up from 115 entries in 2023)
    • $49,980 prize pool (down from $50K in 2023, buy-in was $500 in 2023)
    • Svetlana Gromenkova won for $13,491
  • 2024 $600 buy-in LIPS Venetian Ladies Championship at Venetian ($50K GTD)
    • 296 entries (up from 273 entries in 2023)
    • $149,480 prize pool (up from $115,206 in 2023, buy-in was $500 in 2023)
    • Natalia Rozova won for $30,481

  • 2024 $360 buy-in PLON Crystal Cup at Resorts World ($40K GTD)
    • 259 entries (up from 246 entries in 2023)
    • $79,254 prize pool (up from $74,538 in 2023)
    • Amy Mynderse won for $19,023

  • 2024 $500 buy-in Aria Ladies Championship at Aria ($50K GTD)
    • 351 entries (up from 246 entries in 2023)
    • $147,420 prize pool (up from $103,320 in 2023)
    • Ayaka Muraishi won for $30,219

  • 2024 $400 buy-in LIPS National Championship at South Point ($35K GTD)
    • 253 entries (up from 175 entries in 2023)
    • $86,020 prize pool (up from $53,375 in 2023)
  • 2024 $150 buy-in PLON Omaha-8 at Westgate
    • 40 entries (up from 29 in 2023)
    • $4,800 prize pool (up from $3,480 in 2023)
    • Heather Kimel won for $1,440

Decreased Participation in Several Events

Despite the appearance of more women becoming involved in poker and joining Facebook groups, study groups, and coaching and staking stables, there were some events in the two weeks of Ladies Week that saw decreased participation, two with rather significant drops.

  • 2024 $600 buy-in Wynn Ladies Championship ($50K GTD)
    • 209 entries (down from 373 entries in 2023)
    • $107,635 prize pool (down from $179,040 in 2023, buy-in increased from $500 in 2023)
    • Lisa Childers won for $9,868

  • 2024 $250 buy-in Ladies Event at Golden Nugget ($10K GTD)
    • 96 entries (down from 181 entries in 2023)
    • $18,720 prize pool (down from $27,150 in 2023, buy-in increased from $200 in 2023)
    • Chris Read won for $5,940

WSOP Women’s Events Down from 2023

One of the most popular of the women-only tournaments during this period of the summer is the World Series of Poker Ladies Championship. There is also a low buy-in Ladies Warm-Up event before that. Both tournaments offer high buy-ins but discounts for women who buy in, which was established by the WSOP to discourage men from entering. (The $10K Ladies Championship costs only $1K for women, and the $1,500 Ladies Warm-Up costs just $150 for women.)

Unfortunately, attendance for both events decreased this year.

  • 2024 WSOP Ladies Warm-Up
    • 171 entries (down from 214 in 2023)
    • $18,810 prize pool (down from $23,540 in 2023)
    • Monica Mejia won for $4,470
  • 2024 WSOP Ladies Championship
    • 1,245 entries (down from 1,295 in 2023)
    • $1,095,600 prize pool (down from $1,152,550 in 2023)
    • Shiina Okamoto won for $171,732

Coordination is Key in 2025

There is no argument that more women-only tournaments are better for women in poker. For those who enjoy playing them, it provides an environment in which to play poker away from male harassment, questions, and criticism. Some women use it as an entry point for getting comfortable in poker tournaments, while others simply enjoy the friendly atmosphere among friends.

The problem happens when tournament organizers and sponsors place more importance on branding than on helping to foster a week of poker tournaments for players who take a week to be in Las Vegas for it in the summer. When it drags out to two weeks, most women have a difficult time setting aside that long of a time in Vegas. They have to decide the best time to be in town and what events to play, which often leaves the first and last events to suffer lower attendance. Whether or not this was the case, the June 17 Wynn Ladies Championship the June 27 Ladies Warm-Up, and the June 28 WSOP Ladies Championship all showed lower numbers this year as the primary bookend events of Ladies Week.

WSOP Ladies Week Events

Some events were listed on the Ladies Poker Summer Camp schedule as qualifying for the LIPS Player of the Year points. PLON events are not included and always listed separately. The Warm-Up didn’t make it onto either list. The WPA (Women’s Poker Association) coordinated with Card Player Lifestyle for media coverage of the women-only tournaments of the week (two weeks), but the WPA dubbed the week as only June 23-29 and only listed select events for which a WPA trophy would be awarded to the tournament winners.

While it is understandable for various brands to want to promote their offerings, these groups’ different schedules can be confusing for players who don’t understand industry dynamics and differences. The women’s group that seemed to have the most comprehensive list without any preferences was Globetrotting Poker Women.

Of course, no schedule is going to please all players. This goes for any poker schedule and any group of players. But the more coordination, the better for women in poker and the growth of this segment of the poker community overall.

 

Feature photo credit: Eloy Cabacas for PokerNews

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Jennifer newell

Jennifer newell

Author

Jennifer’s poker journey began with the World Poker Tour in the early 2000s, leading her to a prolific freelance writing career by 2006. With nearly two decades of experience, she has become a poker expert, specializing in writing for publications like Poker Player Newspaper, Poker Pages, PokerStars, and Mediarex. Beyond her writing, Jennifer is the editor and chief of Legal US Poker Sites, has managed poker news aggregation at PokerScout, and undertaken ghostwriting for poker pros and gambling executives. Her preference lies in interviews and opinion pieces, but her in-depth industry knowledge often guides her towards reporting on legislative and legal developments in poker and the broader gambling landscape. Notably, Jennifer is a passionate advocate for women in poker, working to promote gender diversity in a traditionally male-dominated field. Her impact on the poker community extends from her expertise to her advocacy for greater inclusivity.

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