Grandma Runner Up in World Poker Tour Event

February 23rd, 2012 | 12:11 pm

Grandmother of three Diane Gagne books a $158k score at the Hard Rock Casino’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open, narrowly missing becoming the first female winner of a WPT major.

Diane Gigi Gagne - WPT Poker Runner Up By James Spillane, Rakeback.com Poker News Staff Writer

Last week at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, a Florida grandmother became a star on Valentine’s Day.

The World Poker Tour’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open $3,500 buy-in event was won by Matt Juttlestad, but almost making poker history in the second place spot was Diane ‘Gigi’ Gagne, winning $158,194. In the ten years of its existence, no woman has ever won a WPT tournament.

Quite the character, Gigi dressed to impress in a pink low cut top and leather jacket, holding a decisive chiplead when just 34 players remained. She claimed the secret to her bold play was knocking back a few Vodka tonics during the ten-hour days, and wearing a bracelet given to her by a date for good luck.

With an unorthodox poker style, Gigi also claimed to have ‘never bluffed’ while ‘taking down the boys’, in this ClubWPT Player of the Day interview:

Gigi has been playing cards at St. Petersburg’s Derby Lane Kennel Club for several years, but only ever won a few small tournaments. Defying the odds, she steamrolled the 295 player field to finish runner up, when at one point the WPT commentators had set the ‘over/under’ at her placing 17th.

A very spiritual person, Gigi would walk to the table with her boyfriend to pray together before playing. Always smiling and outgoing on the felt, Gigi now plans to take a trip around the world with her new boyfriend before trying her hand at WPT Vienna in April. We hope she’ll stay lucky in cards, love and life!