Las Vegas, NV (Dec. 8, 2023) – After three days of play, Lisa Costello has risen as champion of the 2023 WPT® Ladies Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. Costello topped a field of over 400 women, earning a cash prize of $85,297 and her first World Poker Tour® accolade.
“I think, honestly, I was just so grateful to actually be here after what happened yesterday… It’s just incredible that I was even hear today,” said Lisa, referring to her comeback from sitting with five big blinds on Day 2. “It feels unbelievable. This is such an incredible feeling. And I’ve played with some incredible people. And I just cannot believe that this is happening right now. I’m so happy.”
The $1,100 buy-in tournament drew 457 entrants, generating a prizepool of $443,290, which paid out the top 53 finishers.
“The Ladies Championship is a staple of the WPT World Championship festival,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Thank you to all the women who contributed to the events prowess, and congratulations to Lisa for a spectacular victory.”
The final table was livestreamed from the Encore Ballroom stage, featuring the top six finalists. Ashley Sleeth finished as the runner-up for a score of $57,069, Kathy Stahl won $43,686 in third place, Chris Read won $34,220 in fourth place, Aylar Lie won $26,480 in fifth place, and Ada Lang won $20,155 as the sixth-place finisher.
Notable players to cash prior to final table were six-time WPT final tablist Kathy Liebert (12th place), Women in Poker Hall of Fame members Allyn Shulman (38th place) and J.J. Liu (41st place), as well as the inaugural WPT Ladies Champion Lina Niu (47th place).
Other women-focused events that occurred during the tournament were a viewing party, which broadcasted the 2022 WPT Ladies Championship playdown and a Ladies Mimosa Meet-Up Game (MUG), hosted by Jamie Kerstetter and friends.
Dec. 14 will showcase another special event, a high stakes cash game with blinds of $50-$100, featuring an all-female cast of poker professionals including Jamie Kerstetter, Kitty Kuo, Rhonda DiMartino, Juliet Hegedus, Lily Kiletto, Iris Liu, Xuan Liu, and Kasey Lyn Mills. The cash game will be livestreamed from 4:00-10:00 pm PST.
All photos from 2023 WPT Ladies Championship can be accessed via our Flickr Page.
For more information regarding this and all World Poker Tour events, visit WPT.com.
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