Svetlana Gromenkova defeated the second largest women's-only poker tournament field in history to win her first bracelet and $224,702. Gromenkova, from New York, was born near Moscow and immigrated to the United States about six years ago. With her prize money, Gromenkova also was presented with the traditional WSOP bracelet and a specially designed gold and diamond ladies watch.
"I want people to know I'm a good player," Gromenkova said afterward. "And they will know it now."
Gromenkova is a friend of Anthony Rivera, winner of Event 8 last week. Rivera shocked the poker world with his victory and gave Gromenkova his sunglasses to wear at the final table as a good luck charm. Together, the lucky sunglasses have earned the two players nearly $500,000 within the past week.
The other major story from this event is the second-place finish of Anh Le, who now has been runner-up twice in the Ladies Event in her career. The prize money greatly increased the second time around. In 2005, Le won $83,675, but with the increase of field sizes, the same finish this year resulted in a second-place prize of $144,567.
For the second year in a row, a WSOP Academy graduate made their mark on the this event. After Sally-Anne Boyer won the event in 2007, another graduate, Patty Till, had a chance to give the WSOP Academy back-to-back bracelets. Till, from Avon, Ind., finished in third place and earned $73,637
Other notable finishers include Linda Johnson (23rd), Olga Varkonyi (37th) and Kathy Liebert (47th).
Below are the complete results of Event 15 of the 2008 World Series of Poker:
Event 15: Ladies no-limit hold 'em
Buy-in: $1,000
Entries: 1190
Prize pool: $1,082,900
Players in the money: 99
1. Svetlana Gromenkova ($224,702)
2. Anh Le ($144,567)
3. Patty Till ($73,637)
4. Christine Priday ($87,715)
5. Marla Crumpler ($60,101)
6. Debbie Mitchell ($47,106)
7. Roslyn Quarto ($36,277)
8. Yesenia Garcia ($28,155)
9. Sue Porter ($20,034)
10. Tina Dubowy ($12,887)
11. Ngoc Hoang ($12,887)
12. Courtney Farrell ($12,887)
13. Jena Delk ($10,179)
14. Van Nguyen ($10,179)
15. Christine Fanelli ($10,179)
16. Hoa Nguyen ($7,472)
17. Dawn Murray ($7,472)
18. Mangala Martin ($7,472)
19. Elaine Watkins ($5,848)
20. Juli Campos ($5,848)
21. Nancy Ricks ($5,848)
22. Shavonne Mitchell ($5,848)
23. Linda Johnson ($5,848)
24. Enkhjargal Ochirbat ($5,848)
25. Sheralee Brindell ($5,848)
26. Marlene Holomon ($5,848)
27. Donna Delfin ($5,848)
28. Alice Talbot ($4,765)
29. Meliza Huynh ($4,765)
30. Tsai Mattox ($4,765)
31. Pamela Caravan ($4,765)
32. Julia Rea ($4,765)
33. Jennifer Shahade ($4,765)
34. Jody Phillippo ($4,765)
35. Maria Mayrinck ($4,765)
36. Lisa Ahumada ($4,765)
37. Olga Varkonyi ($3,682)
38. Xiu Song ($3,682)
39. Benay Karp ($3,682)
40. Sylvia Shilyuk ($3,682)
41. Karen Black ($3,682)
42. Aimee Schwegel ($3,682)
43. Liina Vark ($3,682)
44. Candida Mumford ($3,682)
45. Amanda Leatherman ($3,682)
46. Deborah Barrett ($3,357)
47. Kathy Liebert ($3,357)
48. Evelind Ng ($3,357)
49. Elizabeth Montizanti ($3,357)
50. Noemi Kershner ($3,357)
51. Mindy Ritchie ($3,357)
52. Stella Su ($3,357)
53. Bonnie Overfield ($3,357)
54. Kelly Mcglothlin ($3,357)
55. Fukumi Hamasaki ($3,032)
56. Sunshine Gardner ($3,032)
57. Penny Musk ($3,032)
58. Joanne Owsley ($3,032)
59. Julie Willis ($3,032)
60. Michelle Law ($3,032)
61. Michelle Lam ($3,032)
62. Nancy Todd Tyner ($3,032)
63. Lauren Failla ($3,032)
64. Adrienne Victory ($2,707)
65. Lauren Meador ($2,707)
66. Patricia Perkovich ($2,707)
67. Lona Rubenstein ($2,707)
68. Kate Doyle ($2,707)
69. Day Bickell ($2,707)
70. Dana Reutter ($2,707)
71. Eileen Somerday ($2,707)
72. Giselle Dalka ($2,707)
73. Loretta Larson ($2,382)
74. Donna Lee ($2,382)
75. Valerie Palermo ($2,382)
76. Doris Breese ($2,382)
77. Wattana Cruz ($2,382)
78. Charlotte Johnson ($2,382)
79. Helena Mancini ($2,382)
80. Janet Howard ($2,382)
81. Joanna Long ($2,382)
82. Sheila Lipkowitz ($2,166)
83. Bonnie Castillo ($2,166)
84. Cheryl Kolstad ($2,166)
85. Rosemarie Rodas ($2,166)
86. Christina Tisdale ($2,166)
87. Deborah Kindt ($2,166)
88. Amy Rennert ($2,166)
89. Hillarie Tuman ($2,166)
90. Veronica Dabul ($2,166)
91. Shannon Romero ($1,949)
92. Deborah Hickok ($1,949)
93. Heather Escuin ($1,949)
94. April Matthews ($1,949)
95. Cynthia Patterson ($1,949)
96. Clio Soleil ($1,949)
97. Mo Han ($1,949)
98. Iranys Rodriquez ($1,949)
99. Annie Lepage ($1,949)