Five women who have made history in the gambling world

You might get the impression that many professional and successful gamblers are all men, but there are certainly some women who have made their mark in the gambling world.

If you don’t know them, take a look at the following list, which shows that gambling is for everyone and not just for men.

Annette Obrestad

A well-known woman in the gambling world is the Norwegian Annette Obrestad. This lady started playing poker already at the age of fifteen and she clearly proved to have a talent for it. She didn’t have to bet much money because she mainly won free rounds of poker. At 18, she was the youngest person ever to win the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe. She also won the considerable sum of £1 million.

Shirley Brancucci

The next famous woman in the gambling world is Shirley Brancucci. For her story we go back in time to the 1950s. Shirley started her career as a waitress in Las Vegas but because she was suffering from back problems she decided it was better to find another job. She took various training courses and thus became the first female card player in the world at the Baccarat table. No one had preceded her in this because the focus of most ladies was on Blackjack. She is still a legend in the casinos when it comes to Baccarat.

Lottie Deno

Going even further back in time, even to the 19th century, is the story of Lottie Deno. This American professional gambler was born in Kentucky in 1844 and moved as a young woman to Texas where she became known for her good poker play. This soon earned her the nickname Poker Queen. Lottie modeled for several roles in later feature films and television series that featured female poker players. Many characters were therefore based on her.

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Vanessa Selbst

Number four in the list is Vanessa Selbst. This player performed in the professional poker circuit and won no less than three times an event at the World Series of Poker as well as many other poker prizes. She is estimated to have amassed more than $10 million from the game of poker. Selbst can by no means be called a silly lady because in addition to professional poker, she was also a lawyer, a graduate of Yale. She stopped playing professional poker at the highest level in 2018 but can still be found regularly at smaller tournaments.

Judy Bailey

The last woman on the list is Judy Bailey, also known as the First Lady of Gambling. When her husband died in 1964 she inherited his fortune and the casinos he owned. One well-known casino is Hacienda. She was the first businesswoman in the gambling world to bring Live Keno to Las Vegas and make it a huge success. Bailey is still remembered as a good and honest person in the world of casinos. In addition to managing her husband’s estate well, she was known as a great philanthropist who supported many charities. She was there for everyone and got her other nickname Our Judy for that.

More and more women in the gambling world

Although the idea exists that fewer women play an important role in the gambling world, this is certainly not entirely true. Particularly with the rise of online gambling and mobile casinos, more and more women are also coming to gamble and in casinos they can certainly be found. Women have the same rights as men and are simply allowed to participate in all available games provided they are old enough to do so.

Misconceptions about women and gambling

It is also not the case that women are less lucky than men or that gambling is only for ladies of a certain age. Whether you are young or old and regardless of gender, that has no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of a bet or wager. In the casino everyone is welcome provided you are of the right age (rather provided you are at least 18) and may participate in all games. There may be countries where the age limit is different but that will not only apply to the entrance into the casino. If you read the stories of the women who had success in the casino or with online gambling then it will certainly not surprise you that it is absolutely not true that men are luckier or better at gambling. Especially in the games that depend purely on a good dose of luck, gender makes no difference at all.