WSOP Academy Ladies Event Returning to Vegas in June

2007 WSOP Ladies Camp attendee Sally Boyer celebrates her win in the No Limit Hold'em World Championship Ladies Event event at the 2007 World Series of Poker. (Bodog Beat Image)

The 2008 WSOP is drawing closer and closer, and now is the time to start polishing your game for a run at one of those sparkly bracelets. For female poker players, the best way to do that is at the World Series of Poker Academy's Ladies Only Event, which last year saw one of its participants, Sally Boyer, go on to win the title of Ladies World Champion at the 2007 World Series of Poker and is heading back to Las Vegas this summer.

The two-day poker school will be hosted by female poker pro Annie Duke and is scheduled to take place on June 6-7, 2008, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, just in time for the $1,000 buy-in Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship.

Joining Duke as an instructor at the Ladies Only Event is ex-FBI agent Joe Navarro, who will tailor his unique poker tells class to female-specific nonverbal actions at the poker table. He will also be joined by noted instructor Alex "The Insider" Outhred and many others.

"More women are playing poker, and winning, than ever before, and our goal is to help even more women master the game by giving them the confidence and skills they need to be a threat at the table," said Brandon Rosen of Post Oak Productions, the company that produces the WSOP Academy.

"The fact that we had a novice poker player go straight from our academy to become a World Champion two days later is a testament to the level of instruction Annie Duke and all of our instructors offer our participants. We’re expecting to see more WSOP Academy grads go on to win bracelets in 2008."

The WSOP Academy first debuted its Ladies Only Event last year during the World Series of Poker, and the sold-out event saw one of its graduates, Boyer, capture the title of Ladies World Champion by outlasting 1,286 players, the largest field ever assembled for a ladies poker tournament. Boyer's accomplishment was made all the more remarkable as she had only been playing poker for a year and won the tournament immediately after attending the WSOP Academy.

"The WSOP Academy gave me the confidence I needed at the table and taught me key concepts that I was able to put into action right away in the tournament, like pot odds, table demeanor and what to look for when reading someone," said Boyer after her record-setting win, which netted her $262,077 in cash. "The Academy is the quickest way to your WSOP bracelet."

Attendees of the camp will also get the opportunity to compete in a private tournament that will award the top four finishers a $1,500 entry into a 2008 WSOP event of their choice.