Historically, women have not been suitable for gambling and men usually dominate the gambling scene. Women have not gambled much because of being ridiculed and rejected for gambling. Here, we introduce you to 15 of the most famous female gamblers in history.
1. Lottie Deno (Roul-Lottie)
Her reputation spread throughout the Old West. She enjoys hanging out with some of the most famous male gamblers of all time, such as Duck Halliday, a notorious poker player, and gunsmith. Lottie was born in 1844 in Kentucky, USA. After her father died, she was sent to Detroit by her mother to get married there. She started traveling along the Mississippi River and playing poker in riverboats. Later, she moved to San Antonio, Texas where she met another gambler named Frank Thurmond. Lottie and Frank later got married and gave up their gambling lives. Lottie Deno eventually died in Deming at the age of 89, remaining one of the city’s most recognizable residents.
2. Eleanor Dumont (Madame Moustache)
The facts about the life of Eleanor Dumont, who was later became known in life as Madame Mustache, are different as she has paved the way for Blackjack for women. She moved to Nevada, California in 1854 where she opened a casino called the Vingt-et-un (Blackjack jackpot). After several years, Madame Moustache left Nevada City and was later found dead in 1879 after overdosing on morphine, which she did after losing a large amount of money in a card game, according to reports.
3. Maria Gertrudis Barcelo (The Queen of Sin)
Born in the early 19th century, Maria Gertrudis “Toulouse” of Barcelona was recognized as the Queen of Sin at age 25. She was very active in the gambling sector. She was also a famous Monte card player. She gained wealth from her gambling business and she reportedly earned more than $ 350,000 in today’s currency. She had an elaborate funeral in 1852, which was attended by many of her fellow citizens.
4. Alice Ivers Duffield Tubbs Huevert (Poker Alice)
Alice was born in England in 1851 and spent most of her life in the United States. She entered the world of poker after the death of her first husband, who was himself a famous player.
Poker Alice claims to have made $ 250,000 (over $ 3 million in current money) during her lifetime. One of the first stars in the long history of famous female gamblers died in 1930 after a failed surgery. Her character was immortalized in several films, including Poker Alice in 1987, starring Elizabeth Taylor.
5. Mayme Stocker
Mayme Stocker was not a gambler herself, but she has played a significant role in the recent history of women’s gambling. Stocker was born in 1875 and was the eldest child of six.
Mayme and her new family finally settled in the growing city of Las Vegas after marrying a railroad worker and traveling around the country several times. Disappointed with the lack of entertainment and facilities, Stocker opened the North Club in Vermont, Las Vegas in 1920. Although she never gambled, she became the first woman in gambling history to be fully legalized in 1931 in Las Vegas, where she remained active in public life until she died in 1972.
6. Shirley Branucci
In Las Vegas in the 1970s, women were still generally allowed to trade only on blackjack tables, while other common types of casino games, such as roulette or baccarat, were available to men. Shirley Branucci became the first female Baccarat saleswoman on the Las Vegas Strip. The press widely covered her success, and she even appeared on several gambling-related television shows. Shirley Branucci spent the last decade of her 37-year tenure as Baccarat manager at Stardust. She was the only woman to win the title.
7. Claudine Williams
Claudine Williams was born in Louisiana in 1921. She was employed at a gambling establishment when she was 12 years old. By the age of 15, she knew how to play almost all casino games. She met Shelby Williams, who later become her husband, and with whom she moved to Las Vegas. In 1963, the two bought a casino and successfully operated it before selling it to Howard Hughes. In 1973, they opened a brand new institution called Holiday Casino, now known as the Harrah Hotel and Casino. Following Shelby’s death in 1977, Claudine took over the management of the Holiday Casino. She became the first female director of a large casino and the first woman to serve as chairman of both the Bank of America and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
8. Judy Bayley
Judy Bayley is known as the first lady of gambling in the history of Las Vegas and is generally known as the first woman to own and start a casino. In 1964, Judy Bayley acquired The Hacienda Hotel and Casino after the death of her husband.
9. Cat Hulbert
Cat Hulbert acquired card counting skills, surf the globe, and earned a lot of money. This lifestyle brought for her not only money but also notoriety. She has been arrested several times and banned from numerous casinos around the world due to card counting. Hulbert is the only woman to have been named one of the game’s top players by Card Player magazine.
10. Annie Duke
Her brother, Howard Lederer, a poker professional, was the first to see the potential of poker in the mid-twenties and encouraged him to hone his skills. At one point, Duke won the leading money in the history of the Poker World Series. Her contributions to the growth of women’s gambling include a gold bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker and being the only female gambler to win the 2010 National Heads-up Poker Championship. Annie has written several educational books, such as “Deciding to Play Great Poker” and “Middle Zone,” in which she argues that in addition to luck, those looking to succeed in poker need skills.
11. Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst with three bracelets in the world poker series is undoubtedly one of the richest and most famous women poker players in the history of this game. Selbst is also the only person, male or female, to have won the North American Poker Tour twice in 2010! Vanessa Selbst competed in 21 live poker tournaments throughout her poker career, earning a fortune of nearly $ 12 million, making her the richest female gambler in history and the only woman to reach the No. 1 spot.
12. Shannon Elizabeth Fadal
Former actress and fashion model Shannon Elizabeth Fadal once described poker as her second career. She played in the main event of the 2005 World Series of Poker, winning a tournament that celebrated the launch of the new poker room at Caesar Palace a year later, defeating 83 celebrities and securing a place. Elizabeth Fadal scored 12 cash tournaments between 2006 and 2010 and remains one of the most popular poker enthusiasts.
13. Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2005 for a whopping $ 158,625 during the Texas Women’s Unrestricted Event and defeated 600 other participants. Later that year, she also won the third Women’s Invitation Tournament on the Los Angeles Poker World Tour. Tilly also starred in the GSN Royal Poker Series, where she competed in the 2006 Poker Tournament, finishing third and appearing in Poker After Dark.
14. Annette Obrestad
Annette Obrestad is remembered as the youngest winner in the history of the 2007 European Poker Tournament. This happened just one day before her 19th birthday. She won $ 2.01 million on this occasion. In addition to being one of the most popular female poker players, she has also been involved in writing the history of online gambling. Obrestad, once known for using sunglasses while playing games to hide facial expressions, now runs a successful makeup education channel on YouTube.
15. Kristen Bicknell
Kristen Bicknell is a Canadian poker player. When Bicknell started playing, she correctly called himself The Ultimate Grinder because of the number of poker hands he played. From 2011 to 2013, she consolidated her position in women’s gambling, playing about 7.5 million hands of poker. Bicknell is proud to have used three World Series of Poker bracelets and a further 33 points in the same tournament. In 2017, she was ranked No. 1 among live poker players.
What percentage of gambling players are women?
Research has repeatedly shown that men are more interested in gambling than women. The relationship between gender and gambling, studies have shown that men gamble twice as often as women in terms of participation in gambling or repetition of gambling. That’s 69% of men compared to 36% of women.
Taking into account the respondents’ age, family, and socioeconomic status, the rate of male gamblers experiencing gambling problems reached 20.1% versus 7.8% among women. In other words, men are three times more likely to have gambling problems than women.
According to researchers, the factors that play a role in gambling and potentially cause gambling problems are impulsive coping, willingness to take risks, and social anxiety, all of which seem to be more pronounced in men than women.
