Poker Hobby
Wendeen sidled up to her first high-stakes poker game as a lark, at the newly created game at the fabled Mayfair Club in New York City. She took down a monster pot amid gasps from pros who saw her as nothing but a minnow in shark-infested waters.
A year later, Wendeen was the first woman in poker history to earn a piece of the purse at the WSOP Main Event. She earned even more in a side bet with Terry Rogers, a famous oddsmaker, at the WSOP who had predicted, confidently that it was a lot more likely that she would bomb than cash out.
Since her historic finish in 1986, Wendeen has racked up 10 record-setting performances for women in major competitions. She is proud of the poker chip issued in her honor by the WSOP and the title of "Grand Dame of Poker." conferred by the commissioner of the WSOP in 2006.
Wendeen's poker hobby has also landed her Company new clients in the gaming and hospitality businesses, and, her thought leadership in the gaming industry and the poker world are reflected in hundreds of articles she has written for gaming media. From Wendeen's perspective, her most potent contribution was her unyielding activism to stamp out smoking in leading public poker rooms and tournament competitions.
Power Poker Player
- WSOP Main Event cash (1986)
- Hall of Fame Final Table 6th place (1988)
- Winner, 1st place European Open (1990)
- WSOP Main Event Cash (1993)
- WPT-Placed as Last Woman Standing (2003)
- Winner, 1st place High Stakes Invitational (2000)
- WPT Bellagio 5 Diamond Cash (2003)
- WPT Professional Poker Tour (2004)
- US Poker Championship Cash (2004)
- WSOP 5 additional No Limit Hold'em cashes (2003-2009)
Notable Media Attention
- Court TV
- A & E Biography
- GQ Magazine
- New York Times
- LV Review Journal
- ABC News-business feature story
- Poker Night in America, CBS Sports
- Celebrity Player WPT Ladies Night II Travel Channel
- Poker Royale, GSN, Masters vs Youngbloods, series runner-up.
- Sponsored for Elle Magazine Queens of Heart Team, WSOP
Wendeen has also been featured in two political documentaries, Rudy, America's Mayor produced by Sir Harold Evans and Rudy! A Documusical, which follows the controversial life and career of the former mayor, produced by Jed Rothstein for Hulu.
Groundbreaking Activist
Wendeen was recognized in the New Jersey Star Ledger as a significant force in persuading Donald Trump's Taj Mahal poker room in Atlantic City to become the first major card room to go non-smoking. She then continued to be part of a small team of leaders in advocating successfully for smoker bans in card rooms around the country, and even across the pond.
As the Chairman of the WSOP International Players Advisory Council, the CEO of the player-driven World Poker Association, and a journalist and speaker in the poker world, Wendeen has been a strong proponent of abuse-free conduct in poker competition.
Today her poker exploits are principally at charitable poker events, where she donates any winnings to charities associated with medical research and educational opportunities for children.
Print and Broadcast Journalism
Wendeen has frequently broken new ground in the poker world, not only at the poker tables and as an industry leader, but also as a print and broadcast journalist.
- Internet broadcast, last WSOP event (Binion's Horseshoe, 2005)
- First investigative feature story in any poker magazine (Poker Digest)
- Co-anchor of filmed TOC, a pilot for the WPT (2001)
- Director/anchor, first live poker tournament podcast (USPC, 1999)
- First female poker player to commentate for WSOP (ESPN, 1987)