Inductees
2010
INDUCTEES - Billie Brown, Jennifer Harman & Kathy
Liebert
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Billie
Brown Billie Brown started her
career as an educator choosing to teach mentally
handicapped children. Throughout her life, she
would continue her commitment to community
service and her emphasis on the importance of
education.
After graduation from UCLA,
Billie found work as a Ford model and quickly
moved into the role as couturier, taking world
famous fashion designers’ clothing lines around
the world. Her clients included Debbie Reynolds
and Elizabeth Taylor. She coordinated major
fashion week shows around the world for famous
designers including Mary McFadden, Albert Nipon,
and Ralph Lauren. Billie even traveled with the
infamous Rat Pack, dating Peter Lawford for a
spell.
Her work took her to all corners
of the world. In Las Vegas and her home base of
Los Angeles, she perfected the game of poker
that would change her life. In the mid-70s, she
was one of the few women in the cardrooms of Las
Vegas. Within the poker industry, Billie Brown
achieved the title of visionary. She established
a solid reputation as an innovator, creating
exciting tournaments and promotions that changed
the face of poker. In the early 80’s, Billie was
the first person to create a guaranteed purse in
a major poker tournament. She committed a major
casino, the Riviera Hotel, as the tournament
venue. The “Draw for the Gold Tournament”
guaranteed $350,000 in its first year. The
second and third year guaranteed $450,000 and
the fourth year had the first $1,000,000
guarantee. That promotion built a player base of
2500 people, unheard of in those days.
She parlayed that success into creating an
ongoing business of bringing players from New
York and Los Angeles to Las Vegas. She worked
with Commerce Casino creating promotions
including “Play for the Gold,” and worked with
several of the Indian casinos in San Diego,
assisting them in building their poker rooms and
Asian games.
The last decade of her life
was committed to helping market and expand
Ocean’s Eleven Casino in Oceanside, California.
As the casino’s Marketing Director, she created
and hosted the beloved California State Ladies
Poker Championship, an event that still draws
women from all over the country. Her tournament
wasn't just about poker; it was an opportunity
for women in the industry to bond.
Billie
Brown will be remembered as a savvy and
accomplished poker player, a poker visionary,
and a mother of three daughters and grandmother
of three. Her influence lives on today, as poker
continues to grow exponentially with
opportunities for so many . . . just as she
envisioned. |
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Jennifer Harman
Jennifer Harman was born in
Reno, Nevada. Harman learned about by poker
watching he dad play at 8 years old. In the mid
80s she turned pro. She has found the most
success playing in high stakes cash games. She
is married to fellow poker pro Marco Traniello,
who she taught how to play poker. Her years of
experience at high-stakes cash games, playing
every type of poker, have made her one the best
all-around poker players.
In 2000, Harman played a No
Limit Hold'em 2-7 Draw event at the WSOP and won
her first bracelet. Remarkably, she had never
played NL 2-7 Draw before the event. She
received a short tutorial from Howard Lederer
right before the event. In her career Jennifer
has made 5 WSOP final tables and won 2
bracelets. |
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Kathy Liebert
Born in Tennessee, but
raised on Long Island in New York, Kathy
attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY,
graduating with a degree in business and
finance.
A friend
encouraged Kathy to try her hand at tournament
poker. She headed for Las Vegas. Kathy surprised
herself, finishing second in her first
tournament, Omaha Hi-lo. A week later she
entered her first Texas Holdem tournament—and
took home another second. After one week of
tournament poker she had won $34,000.
It was
the beginning of her tournament career. Kathy
has had many repeat performances and successes
in television poker tournaments. Some memorable
events include the GSN series Poker Royale, the
very popular Poker SuperStars and the many
appearances on the Travel Channels World Poker
Tour.
Kathy is
the top ranked woman poker tournament player in
history with cash earnings over $5.7 million
dollars. She also owns a WSOP gold bracelet and
has several WPT final tables to add to her
career standings. |
2009 INDUCTEES
- JUNE FIELD, JAN FISHER & CYNDY VIOLETTE!
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June Field
Some might not know
June Field, but they benefit from her
contribution to the poker world. Though she won
a WSOP bracelet in the Ladies seven-card stud
tournament in 1982, it was her background in
journalism that led her to make her mark in
poker. June founded Card Player magazine in
1988. “I wanted a media vehicle that would be a
reliable source for advertisers and readers
alike…one they could turn to and find out what’s
happening, where it’s happening, and who is
making it happen. Our slogan was “the magazine
for those who play to win,” said June. She also
founded Card Player Cruises and Classic Poker
Cruises. After some time, she founded another
poker magazine called Poker Digest, which later
merged with Casino Player magazine. She is now
retired and living in Las Vegas. |
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Jan Fisher
Jan Fisher started her
poker career in 1977 when she moved to Las Vegas
to become a poker dealer. She dealt for 15 years
before moving on to semi-professional playing
and poker management. She is a partner in Card
Player Cruises and also a co- founder of the
Tournament Directors Association. She has served
as the tournament director for the highly
successful PartyPoker.com Million events and
hosts various tournaments around the country.
Jan wrote the Poker 101 column for Card Player
for ten years and currently writes the column
"Fishing Around" for Poker Player. She is on the
Board of Directors for the Poker Players
Alliance, Ladies Poker Association, and Ladies
International Poker Series. Jan was seen on the
Travel Channel as the live studio announcer for
the Professional Poker Tour and was the
statistician for the World Poker Tour for its
first six seasons. She gives poker seminars and
lessons around the country, is an instructor for
WPT Boot Camp, and is involved in many charity
projects. |
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Cyndy Violette
Cyndy Violette dealt
blackjack and poker in Las Vegas and started
playing tournament poker in 1984. She built a
small bankroll with her tournament winnings and
decided to make poker her profession. Before
long, she was setting records for most-money won
by a female tournament player. In 1994, she
moved to Atlantic City to play poker, enjoy
life, and pursue her passion for healthy
vegetarian cooking. In 2004, she achieved one of
her dreams of winning a gold bracelet in the
stud/8 tournament at the World Series of Poker.
In 2005, she made three final WSOP tables and
had six cashes. She was featured in television
appearances on The Superstars of Poker, Poker
Royale: Pro/Celebrity, and the World Series of
Poker. Today, she spends most of her time in Las
Vegas and Los Angeles playing high-stakes cash
games. She attends major tournaments but still
finds time to work on her line of poker-inspired
clothing and motivational items. |
2008 Inductees
Marsha Waggoner, Linda Johnson, Susie Isaacs and
Barbara Enright
If you missed out on one of
the most wonderful moments in poker history, then
you need to make it a point to never miss it again!
The Inaugural Induction event
exceeded the expectations of those in attendance. It
was a first class affair being led by Master of
Ceremony Mike Sexton and Featured Key Note Speaker
Jan Fisher.
The event was orchestrated by
Professional Event Director Gyla Whitlow of Houston,
Texas. She created a moving photo montage of each
inductee and women in poker history in general.
For media coverage of this
event, please
Click here.
Barbara Enright
A true class
act, this top female player became the first
woman to ever win a major open World Series
of Poker event when she won the pot-limit
hold’em title in 1996. In addition to
holding an open-event bracelet, Enright has
also won two bracelets in the WSOP ladies
championship.
The only woman to make the WSOP $10,000 main
event final table, Enright has also received
the all-around best player award at the 2000
Legends of Poker tournament series. In 2007,
Enright was the first woman ever inducted
into the Poker Hall of Fame. |
Susie Isaacs
This
southern
poker
professional
was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but
has been
working the
Las Vegas
tables since
1986. Susie
Isaacs won
back-to-back
ladies
championships
at the
World Series
of Poker
in 1996 and
1997. Isaacs
was also
featured on
the show
Poker Royale:
The James
Woods Gang
vs. The
Unabombers
and has been
a frequent
contributor
to Card
Player
magazine.
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Linda Johnson
The former publisher of Card Player
magazine, Johnson is the current World Poker
Tour announcer, a Card Player author, and a
well-respected player. She won a World
Series of Poker bracelet in 1997 in the
$1,500 seven-card Razz event.
When not working with the WPT, Johnson is
the organizer of Card Player Cruises, the
host of several “at sea” poker tournaments.
She was a co-founder of the World Poker
Industry Conference, the World Poker Players
Conference, and the Tournament Directors
Association. She was the original
chairperson for the Poker Players Alliance
and still serves on its board of directors.
Today, Linda teaches for the WPT Boot Camp
and hosts charity events and seminars in
cardrooms around the world. Known as “The
First Lady of Poker,” Johnson has been
worthy ambassador to the game over the
years. |
Marsha Waggoner
Marsha Waggoner was born and raised in
Australia. She spent some time as a
blackjack dealer in Sydney but made most of
her money playing in poker games on her
nights off. In the 1980s, Waggoner moved to
the United States with her three children.
She settled in the Los Angeles area and
supported her family by playing poker.
Waggoner has cashed in more than 100 major
tournaments, including 18 times at the World
Series of Poker. She has close to a million
dollars in career tournament winnings. |
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