Marsha Waggoner (born January 11, 1940 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is an American professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player who lives in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Waggoner has finished in the money at 20

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

(WSOP) events as of 2010. Her highest WSOP finish was 2nd place in the 23rd Annual WSOP tournament in

Limit Limit or Limits may refer to: Arts and media * ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu * ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film * Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony * "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea * "Limits", a 2019 ...

7 Card Stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River is a List of poker variants, variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most widely played poker variant in home games acr ...

Hi/Lo, for which she won $52,500.

Poker career

Background

In 1976, as a casino dealer in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Waggoner discovered a talent for

stud poker Stud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically '' non-positional'' games, meaning that the player who bets first ...

, and in 1977, moved to

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

to pursue poker professionally. Most of her experience up until this point was in

cash game Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, often with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit. In contrast, a pok ...

s, however her interest in tournament games was piqued when Amarillo Slim brought the ''Second Annual Poker Classic'' to Reno in 1980. Waggoner stayed in Reno until the mid-1980s, at which point she moved to

, quickly demonstrating her ability at tournament

Texas Hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, communit ...

and

Seven-Card Stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most widely played poker variant in home games across the United States, a ...

events. In 1987, Waggoner moved to California while continuing to play professionally. It was around this time that Waggoner began to establish herself as "a solid and patient tournament player whose results continually proved she belonged in the game's upper echelons". In 2008, she was one of four inaugural inductees into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame at

Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, is a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience mall in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned by TLC Casino Enterprises. The casino is named for its founder, Benn ...

. In 2010, she was inducted into the

Australian Poker Hall of Fame Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

., Retrieved October 2, 2010.

Results

Waggoner’s best tournament placing was winning the 2003 National Championship of Poker, playing in the Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo event, a low limit buy in at Hollywood Park Casino. In 2005, Waggoner was invited to play in the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

’s third annual Legends of Poker Ladies Night tournament at the

Bicycle Casino The Bicycle Hotel & Casino (commonly, "The Bike") is a poker cardroom in California. Founded by George Hardie Sr. in 1984, located in Bell Gardens, California, The Bicycle Casino offers a selection of poker games and Asian games, with a wide ra ...

, and finished third in one event of the 2006

Ultimate Poker Challenge The Ultimate Poker Challenge (UPC) was a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals. The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD. In the United States, it was a syndicated program. Format ...

. As of 2010, her total live tournament winnings exceed $830,000.

Personal life

Waggoner is currently single; in 2008 she separated from fellow poker professional

Kenna James Kenna James (born December 18, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional poker player, television commentator, Personal Coach and actor who currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Poker career James' total live tournament winnin ...

, whom she met at the Hollywood Park Casino in 1997. She has three children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren, and enjoys playing golf and dancing. Although she has lived in America for more than 30 years, Waggoner still visits her home country regularly to compete in poker tournaments (such as the

Aussie Millions The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a ...

) and see her extended family. Waggoner's brother is the noted former Australian

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

Jim Fenwick.

References

External links

Poker Pages profile

Poker Listings biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waggoner, Marsha 1940 births American poker players Female poker players Living people American people of Australian descent Australian poker players Super Bowl of Poker event winners