Poker After Dark Ladies Week Recap

By Dennis Oehring

In another original programming match from the inaugural season of Poker After Dark, six of poker's top female players competed on Ladies Week, with each plunking down $20,000 in hopes of claiming this special title. The competitors, Clonie Gowen, Evelyn Ng, Dee Luong, Vanessa Rousso, Jennifer Harman, and Cyndy Violette, all stayed in the match for nearly 4 complete episodes before Gowen went on a great run of cards and played them to perfection in claiming the $120,000 winner-take-all prize.

The match featured a great deal of conversation and friendly chatter between the players, combined with some tight play as the chip lead switched from one player to another early in the match. Gowen took the lead late in the fourth day, and once she did, none of the other players were able to take it from her.

On the fourth day, a short-stacked Vanessa Rousso went all in while holding an offsuit 8 6 in the small blind was called by Jennifer Harman in the big blind holding pocket jacks. Jennifer made a set on the river, and Rousso was the first to be eliminated. Once Rousso was out and with the blinds at $400/$800, the players seemed to become more focused on winning the match as the conversation at the table took on a more serious tone.

Evelyn Ng was next to leave as her pocket kings were cracked by Gowen holding a suited A 3. Then with the blinds at $600/$1200, Gowen claimed another victim, this time Dee Luong, who ran into Clonie's dominating A Q while holding A 10. At this point, Gowen had nearly two-thirds of the chips in play, and appeared unstoppable.

Violette then found herself all in with A Q against Gowen's pocket fours, but Clonie's small pair held up and Cyndy was eliminated in 3rd place. That left Gowen with a 3.5:1 chip lead over Jennifer Harman entering heads-up play, and when Clonie spiked a nine on the flop while holding Q 9 and Harman's suited A J didn't improve, Gowen had eliminated 4 of her 5 competitors in route to the victory. Congratulations, Clonie!

With the filming of the second season of Poker After Dark now complete, viewers can look forward to many new matches in the upcoming weeks. The first match of PAD2 will begin airing on June 11, and a complete list of all scheduled matches and dates will be posted on this website soon.