Women were viewed as unsuitable gamblers through most of the gambling’s vast and diverse history. Even today, although there are no gender restrictions and people can play all that they want in online casinos, too, males are still far more prevalent in the gambling sector, regardless of the method. Some of these women are stars in blackjack while others are poker. We do recommend that you start your online casino journey at a reliable platform like Winissimo.
Women were the victims who experienced the unfairness of being mocked or expelled from public life for participating in activities that were only meant for males.
Research has repeatedly demonstrated that males are more likely than women to engage in such activities when it comes to gambling participation and frequency. Although the statistics vary from one poll to the next, they are usually skewed in favour of males.
According to another research, there are considerable gender disparities in gambling problems as well: when age, household, and socioeconomic level of participants were taken into consideration, the percentage of male gamblers with gambling issues was 20.1%, contrasted to 7.8% for female gamblers. In other words, males are thrice more likely than women to develop gambling issues.
So, let’s get to know about ten such female gamblers who made their mark in history despite such history and conditions:
Eleanor Dumont (Madame Moustache)
The first woman on our list of notable female gamblers has a strange moniker and an even stranger’s personal history. She was the one who introduced ladies to the game of blackjack. When she came to Nevada in 1854, she cemented her position in the history of great gamblers of the Old West. She founded a gambling facility there called Vingt-et-un, well after the game, she shone at. She got business all around California, Arizona, and Montana because of her status as a fair trader.
DuMont, the leading female gambler, met her end in 1879 when she died of a morphine overdose, which she had taken after losing a large sum of money in a card game.
Maria Gertrudis Barcelo (The Queen of Sin)
Maria Gertrudis Barcelo, also known simply as “La Tules,” was one of the first saloon holders. Her image and identity are no longer verified on any records, giving her a mythical status. She is said to have benefited greatly from the influx of people in New Mexico, earning her the moniker “Queen of Sin.” She is said to have amassed a small profit through her numerous opportunistic business activities, leaving $10,000 in her will to different family members. In 1850, her lavish funeral was attended by a huge number of Santé Fe inhabitants.
Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst is unquestionably one of the wealthiest and most well-known female poker players in history, having won three World Series of Poker bracelets. In 2010 and 2011, Selbst was the only individual, male or female, to conquer the North American Poker Tour 2 years in a row. Vanessa Selbst has competed in 21 live poker events throughout her poker journey!
Vanessa Selbst played in a total of 21 live poker events throughout her career, amassing a fortune of about $12 million, becoming the wealthiest female gambler of all time and the only female to reach the top of the Global Poker Index!
Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight, also recognised as the Empress of Soul, is a multi-platinum vocalist who has won seven Grammy awards. She spent a decade in the gambling industry after a lucrative career in the media industry. She would primarily play baccarat and blackjack, with varying degrees of success.
Although she was never professionally involved, she spent a lot of time honing her abilities in casino halls around Las Vegas and California. Knight speaks regarding her life as a gambler in her autobiography, asserting she doesn’t feel guilty about the time she spent playing card games and wagering in particular.
Annie Duke
Anne or ‘Annie’ LaBarr Duke is a poker player from New Hampshire who has won several tournaments and been on television. She was born in 1965 and had little inclination in gambling until she was in her mid-twenties when she found her previously undisclosed poker aptitude.
She shares this talent with her brother Howard Lederer, with whom she would later compete in the 2006 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Although she has now retired from competitive gaming, she continues to appear as a commentator for Vegas-based tournaments.
Claudine Williams
Claudine Williams, who was born in 1921, was the first woman to be inducted into Nevada’s Gambling Hall of Fame, and she is still one of the few females in this category. She garnered prominence and reputation for her influence on the growth of the gambling business in Las Vegas. She, like Judy Bayley, played an important part in the creation of the Vegas Strip.
Before she was even 21 years old, she had become the youngest woman in Texas to run a gambling establishment. In the field of women’s gambling, she was a trailblazer.
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is another star on the list of famous female gamblers. She is the daughter of a gambler and poker player. She defeated 600 players in the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold ’em event at the 2005 World Series of Poker to win a bracelet and a tidy amount of $158,625 at the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold ’em tournament. As well as winning the third Ladies Invitational World Poker Tour Tournament in Los Angeles that year, she was runner-up in another event later that year.
In addition, Tilly has participated in the GSN Poker Royale episodes and was a participant in the CPS in 2006, placing third. She made an appearance at the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions in 2007 as a character in the video game WSPT of Champions 2007 Edition.
Judy Bayley
One of the most well-known characters in the gaming industry, Judy Bayley, dubbed the “First Lady of Gambling,” was born in Dallas, Texas in 1915. Warren Bayley, the owner of a vast network of California hotels, married her in 1936. They would expand their operation to Las Vegas 21 years later. Their decision to build the Hacienda hotel and casino in Nevada was critical to the development and prosperity of the now-iconic Las Vegas strip. She became the first woman to own and run a hotel-casino after her husband passed away in 1963.
Annette Obrestad
Some of you may be aware of Anette Obrestad from her numerous online outlets, her most popular being her channel on Youtube, where she publishes largely makeup-related videos. Alongside this, though, is her immensely lucrative poker career.
Having emerged into the picture at the age of 15, she utilised her parents’ credit card to join numerous online poker sites. She won almost $1 million in cash prizes between 2005 and 2006. She’d carry on her winning run into real-life poker tournaments. She won another million on the eve of her nineteenth birthday at the maiden WSP Europe.
Kristen Bicknell
Kristen Bicknell, a poker player from Canada, brings our list of female gambling celebrities to a close. Bicknell began playing poker online while still a university student. She established her position in women’s gambling between 2011 and 2013 and gave her title a whole new meaning by playing an astounding 7.5 million poker hands.
Bicknell has 3 WSP bracelets to her name and 33 money finishes in the very same competition. In 2017, she was ranked first among live female poker tournament players.
The 34-year-old Canadian is still quite active in the poker world, with recent wins totalling slightly more than $5 million.
