Lupe Soto and Maria Ho are the 2018 Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductees.
Las Vegas, NV (May 1st 2018) – The WiPHoF Voting Panel made up of Hall Members and Media/Industry Members concluded their votes and the ballots were counted. The Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) is proud to announce Lupe Soto and Maria Ho will join the ranks of the Hall this summer.
The WiPHoF Luncheon Celebration & Induction is takes place Tuesday June 26th, 2018 at 11AM at Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. This event is sponsored by PokerStars and Helping Hands, the charitable giving arm of The Stars Group, and is open to the public. Also sponsoring is 888 Poker and Card Player Cruises. The WiPHoF celebration benefits Poker Gives, a non-profit charity serving military families in need and homeless veterans.
It’s fitting that the Hall in its 10th Anniversary year inducts its Founder, Lupe Soto. She has been an advocate for women in poker for close to two decades. Coming from an online poker background in the late 90’s, she became aware of how many women were playing the game from the comfort of their homes. Yet, in land based poker rooms, it was very common to be one of the very few women sitting at a table. In efforts to increase women’s participation in poker, she created the first online poker forum for women back in 2002 and followed it up with a poker tour dedicated to women, Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) in 2004. She has worked tirelessly to create opportunities to introduce women into the game with a myriad of programs. She also conceived the Hall which has honored 17 other women to date for the significant contributions to the poker world. “I am so excited to be included amongst these amazing women. The ballot this year was filled with some of the most respected and well deserving women in the game. All of them should hold a place in the Hall and I’m sure one day soon, they will!” Said Soto when learning of her selection. Soto currently is the CEO of Senior Poker Tour, and the Founder & Executive Director of the newly established Women’s Poker Association (WPA), a non-profit member based organization to advance the development of women in poker.
Maria Ho is a record-breaking professional poker player, TV personality, Ambassador and host/commentator. This is her first year to be eligible for the Hall and was easily selected for induction as she has sky rocketed to success in all areas of the game. She’s currently ranked fourth on the GPI among female poker players in the world, and is 10th on the female all-time money list with over 2.7 million dollars in earnings. She was the first female in history to be hired to a poker television broadcast (HPT) as the resident strategic commentator. She has also been seen on the Emmy Winning 15th season of The Amazing Race, as well as on ESPN as part of the broadcast team for the WSOP Main Event in 2017, and currently co-hosts WPT’s King of The Club on Fox Sports Net. When notified of her selection, she said “Wow! What wonderful news to receive! I am honestly incredibly shocked and beyond honored to hear this”. Maria was globe-trotting in the Netherlands attending the WPT festivities there when she was notified.
Tickets are open to the public to attend this historical industry event. To purchase tickets, or learn more, please visit www.WiPHoF.com
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About the Women in Poker Hall of Fame – The prestigious Women in Poker Hall of Fame, founded in 2008 is designed to honor women in poker who have acquired prominence and have made contributions to the poker world.
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