Las Vegas, NV (May 1st 2018)—The WiPHoF Voting Panel made up of Hall Members and Media/Industry Members concluded their votes and the ballots were counted. The Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) is proud to announce Lupe Soto and Maria Ho will join the ranks of the Hall this summer. The WiPHoF Luncheon Celebration & Induction takes place Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 11 a.m. at Orleans Casino in Las Vegas.
This event is sponsored by PokerStars and Helping Hands, the charitable giving arm of The Stars Group and is open to the public. 888 Poker and Card Player Cruises is also sponsoring the event. The WiPHoF celebration benefits Poker Gives, a nonprofit charity serving military families in need and homeless veterans.
It’s fitting that the Hall, in its 10 Anniversary year, inducts its founder, Lupe Soto. She is an advocate for women in poker for close to two decades. Coming from an online poker background in the late ‘90s, she became aware of how many women were playing the game from the comfort of their homes.
Yet, in land-based poker rooms, it was common to be one of the few women sitting at a table.
In efforts to increase women’s participation in poker, she created the first online poker forum for women back in 2002 and followed it up with a poker tour dedicated to women, Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) in 2004. She worked tirelessly to create opportunities to introduce women into the game with a myriad of programs. She conceived the Hall which has honored 17 other women to date for the significant contributions to the poker world.
“I am so excited to be included amongst these amazing women. The ballot was filled with some of the most respected and well deserving women in the game. All should hold a place in the Hall, and I’m sure one day soon, they will!,” said Soto when learning of her selection.
Soto is the CEO of Senior Poker Tour, and the founder & executive director of the newly established Women’s Poker Association (WPA), a nonprofit member-based organization to advance the development of women in poker.
Maria Ho is a record-breaking professional poker player, TV personality, ambassador, and host/commentator. This year is her first to be eligible for the hall and was easily selected for induction as she has skyrocketed to success in all areas of the game. She’s ranked fourth on the GPI among female poker players in the world and is 10th on the female all-time money list with over 2.7 million dollars in earnings.
She was the first female in history to be hired to a poker television broadcast (HPT) as the resident strategic commentator. She has been on the Emmy winning 15 season of
The Amazing Race, as well as on
ESPN as part of the broadcast team for the WSOP Main Event in 2017, and co-hosts WPTs
King of The Club on Fox Sports Net. When notified of her selection, she said “Wow! What wonderful news! I am honestly incredibly shocked and beyond honored to hear this.”
Maria was globe-trotting in the Netherlands attending the WPT festivities there when she was notified.
Tickets are open to the public to attend this historical industry event. To purchase tickets, or learn more, please visit
www.WiPHoF.com
About the Women in Poker Hall of Fame—The prestigious Women in Poker Hall of Fame, founded in 2008, is designed to honor women in poker who have acquired prominence and have made contributions to the poker world.
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