On Saturday, June 21st, the lively Orleans poker room played host to the $600 Ladies Championship, one of the marquee events of Women’s Poker Week. As part of our ongoing partnership with the Women’s Poker Association (WPA), Cardplayer Lifestyle was on-site to cover all the action.
The tournament kicked off at 11 a.m., with late registration open until 6:15 p.m. Players began with a generous 40,000-chip starting stack, and the structure featured 30-minute levels that extended to 40 minutes after Level 12, creating a player-friendly and competitive environment. The event carried a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool, which was easily surpassed thanks to a strong turnout of 181 players. When registration closed, the prize pool had soared to an impressive $93,215. A total of 24 places were paid, with the winner set to take home $22,606 and the minimum cash worth $1,258.
✨It’s Women’s Poker Week in Vegas & here’s what you need to know about Sat 6/21!
🎟️ Don’t miss our Summer Raffle Fundraiser!
Tickets: 1/$25 or 5/$100. Each ticket enters you into both prize drawings. Details are in the image below!
🍀🏆Good luck at the tables!#wpaglobal pic.twitter.com/uG4jKtlps1
— Women’s Poker Association (@WPAGlobal) June 21, 2025
Chris Joy, Vice President and General Manager of the Orleans, had this to say about the tournament, “The Orleans is proud to host the Summer Open Series Ladies Championship, bringing in some of the top women in professional poker from all over the world. More and more women are joining competitive poker as an exciting sport of endurance, strategy, and mental toughness. We are honored to provide this experience to so many talented women in the poker-playing world.”
WPA Player of the Day: Debbie Espe
Our player of the day section is brought to you by Women’s Poker Association’s sponsor, Jamie Kerstetter | Advocate for Women in Poker, Commentator, Professional Poker Player, Venetian Poker’s Women’s Poker Ambassador. Follow Jamie on X here.
When asked why she wanted to support this series of women’s events, Jamie answered, “The WPA does great work creating opportunities, building community, and mentoring new women in poker. I’m proud to stand behind WPA and push for more women to get in the game.”
Debbie Espe has been playing poker for 25 years, ever since she sold her real estate brokerage business. She holds degrees in both sociology and anthropology, and is one of the original advocates for the Women’s Poker Association (WPA). Passionate about supporting women in the game, Debbie continues to promote and play alongside them.
Her love for poker and travel has facilitated opportunities to play at tournaments across the United States as well as in London, Costa Rica, Canada, Ireland, and Malta — her most cherished poker destination. Backed by the full support of her family, Debbie is a proud mother of three, grandmother of eight (with a ninth on the way), and great-grandmother of three. Though her husband doesn’t play, he’s her biggest cheerleader.
While she won’t be playing in this year’s WSOP Ladies Event due to an upcoming Norwegian cruise, Debbie plans to return for Event #90: $777 Lucky 7’s and Event #97: $1,500 The Closer.
Debbie attributes much of her poker success to her strong intuition. She recounted a recent hand where she made a tough call, prompting another player to ask, “How did you call that?” Her response: “I just felt it.” Although she once attempted to delve into advanced game theory, she found it more confusing than helpful, and ultimately had to unlearn it to reconnect with her natural instincts. Today, she works with a mindset coach and has also received coaching from poker pro Kenna James.
Debbie’s gut-driven approach is clearly working. With over $120,000 in lifetime tournament earnings to her name, she thrives in both cash games and tournaments. Among her notable finishes is a deep run in Event #1: $1,000 Mystery Millions this year, where she scored two $1,000 bounties and placed 132nd for $7,460. Her biggest tournament score came in 2014 at a Daily Deepstack, where she cashed for $32,050.
Don’t let the “great-grandma” label fool you! Debbie Espe is a force to be reckoned with at the poker table.
Final Table Results and Payouts
Bubble play at Orleans’ $600 Ladies Championship stretched out as short stacks tightened up and the action slowed, with everyone treading carefully. Once the final table was set, chips moved around for a bit, but as the night wore on, fatigue began to set in. When the field was down to six players, talk of a potential chop began, though there wasn’t immediate consensus.
Then, Florence Mazet of France was eliminated in sixth place. She had been short-stacked for much of the evening and had begun a promising comeback, but ultimately couldn’t win her final flip, despite the cheers and energy from her French rail.
With Mazet’s exit, chop discussions resumed. An Independent Chip Model (ICM) deal was proposed, and after some initial indecision, all five remaining players agreed, especially given that it was approaching 2 a.m.
When the dust settled, it was Rachel Usack of Florida who held the chip lead and walked away with the largest payout, along with the championship trophy. Reflecting on her journey, Rachel said she’d been short-stacked for most of the day but stuck to her strategy and stayed composed. Arriving at the final table as one of the shorter stacks, she managed to win a few crucial flips and quickly surged to the top.
As for what’s next, Rachel plans to jump into the High Roller Tournament, unless, she joked, she’s too exhausted to play.
2025 Women’s Poker Week Orleans final table
Final Payout Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Rachel Usack | Thonotosassa FL, USA | $13,334 |
| 2 | Jill Bryant | Aurora, IL, USA | $13,014 |
| 3 | Maria Scardaville | Langhorn, PA, USA | $12,710 |
| 4 | Ruth Hall | Round Rock TX, USA | $9,280 |
| 5 | Danielle Chaput | Savannah GA, USA | $7,639 |
| 6 | Florence Mazet | France | $4,008 |
| 7 | Phakwalan Chonwiran | Thailand | $3,402 |
| 8 | Christina Gollins | Henderson NV, USA | $2,890 |
| 9 | Chris Read | Phoenix, AZ, USA | $2,470 |
| 10 | Toni Bisconti | Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA | $2,097 |
| 11 | Nancy Birnbaum | Fort Lauderdale FL, USA | $2,097 |
| 12 | Ayaka Muraishi | Japan | $2,097 |
| 13 | Ting Ting Ho | United States | $1,818 |
| 14 | Kayla Clackum | Clarksville GA, USA | $1,818 |
| 15 | Janet Berry | Henderson NV, USA | $1,818 |
| 16 | Lais Louenco | Brazil | $1,585 |
| 17 | Jennifer Avila | Modesto CA, USA | $1,585 |
| 18 | Sigrid Dencker | Austria | $1,585 |
| 19 | Laura Hoppe | Houston TX, USA | $1,398 |
| 20 | Jennifer Jones | Sandy UT, USA | $1,398 |
| 21 | Sandra Lefler | Las Vegas NV, USA | $1,398 |
| 22 | Rebecca Trianosky | Greenville TN, USA | $1,258 |
| 23 | Cindy Manning | Peachtree City GA, USA | $1,258 |
| 24 | Bridgette Adkins | Dearborn MO, USA | $1,258 |
2025 Women’s Poker Week: What’s Next?
Cardplayer Lifestyle’s exclusive coverage of 2025 Women’s Poker Week continues:
- Sunday, June 22nd | $2,500 NLH LIPS Ladies High Roller $100K GTD (3 day), at the Venetian, starting at 12:10 p.m.
- Monday, June 23rd | $600 NLH at the Wynn kicking off at 11:00 a.m.
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