College Student Anisha Shrestha Takes Final Exam Break...and Wins Ladies

21-year-Old Former Native of Nepal Was Playing in Only Her Second Tournament

Atlantic City, NJ - Anisha Shrestha, a 21-year-old student from Philadelphia studying computer engineering, wanted to take an Atlantic City break and take a shot at the ladies tournament. She wasn’t sure she could make it on time, but she did, completely ran over the final table and ended up winning the eighth event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Harrah’s Atlantic City, Ladies $200 no-limit hold’em.
First place paid an official $20,336, but a three-way deal ended the night. At that point, Shrestha had more than 700,000 to 167,000 for Judith Urban and 60,000 for Gina Saladino. Shrestha accepted $17,000 and the striking gold trophy pendant for first place, while Urban and Saladino took $9,500 each for second and third, respectively.
Shrestha is originally from Kathmandu, Nepal, arriving in this country in 2004. She learned poker two years ago playing with friends, and this is only her second tournament. She played a Midnight Madness event at the Taj on her birthday last March, but didn’t come in the money.
Shrestha, who describes her style of play as “loose aggressive,” started the final table with a good chip lead and went rapidly uphill from there, aided by good cards. Earlier in the tournament she never looked at pocket aces, but was dealt them twice at the final table.
This was the only one-day event in this Circuit tour here. The final table of 10 very quickly got down to the official nine when Donna Osbahr’s pocket kings lost to Shrestha’s set of deuces.
We began with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, with Shrestha holding 269,000 of the nearly million in play.

Here were the starting chip counts:

1. Christine Mizerak  26,000
2. Jennifer Goad   52,000 
3. Denise Ronca   43,000
4. Anisha Shrestha  269,000
5. Gina Saldano  158,000
6. Candy Vecere  75,000
7. Yoriko Hama  175,000
8. Ebony Kenney  93,000
9. Judith Urban  93,000

It took but three hands to lose our first player. Yoriko Hama pushed in all her 160,000 chips with pocket jacks. Shrestha claimed another victim when she called and turned up pocket aces. When the board came K-K-3-A, Hama was drawing dead to Shrestha’s aces-full. She checked out in ninth place, which paid $1,312.
Hama, 34, is from Japan and now lives in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where she is an office worker. She’s been playing a little over a year, learning the game at a poker bar in Japan. Hama, who is married, was playing her first tournament “for fun.”
These ladies weren’t coy. There was continuous action and plenty of all-in bets. Five hands later, Shrestha made her third straight kill when Ebony Kenney pushed in with A-Q. Shrestha called with pocket 10s, which held up when the board came K-6-4-8-J. Kenney earned $1,968 for eighth.
Kenney, 25, is a poker correspondent/player from Ft. Myers, Florida entering her fifth Circuit in six years as a player. Before her present involvement in poker she was a make-up artist and mortgage broker. She has two kids and her other hobby is shopping.
Just one hand later, another lady went to the cashier’s window. This time it was Christine Mizerak, who went all in with 10-9, losing to Gina Saladino’s K-J when the board came J-10-5-6-5.  
Mizerak, 38, is from Hamilton, New Jersey employed as a sales customer service rep. She is married, learned poker with her family five years ago, and this is her poker highlight. Her father is pool legend Steve Mizerak.
And, just four hands later, another lady took her leave. Down to 23,000, Jennifer Goad put it all in from the cutoff seat holding pocket 4s. Once more Shrestha accepted the challenge, calling from the small blind with K-10. The cards were loving her tonight, because a 10 came on the turn and Goad settled for $3,280 for sixth place.
Goad, 34, from Bedfore, Virginia, is a customer care associate who is married with three children. Her husband taught her poker 18 months ago.
A few hands later, Shrestha showed she didn’t always need cards. In three-way action, with a big pot and Candy Vecere all in, Shrestha bet 80,000 into a board of 7-5-4-Q-A. She got Gina Saladino, fearing an ace, to lay down a queen. All Shrestha had was 8-4. Vecere took the main pot with A-9, but Shrestha made a nice profit by taking the side pot.
When a new level started with blinds of 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes, Denise Ronca, in the small blind, had barely enough to make the big blind payment. She had K-10 and Shrestha (who else?) had pocket aces. An ace flopped and Ronca finished fifth for $3,936.
Ronca, 55, lives in Brigantine, New Jersey, and works in accounts payable. She learned poker from her husband three years ago, and this is her second Circuit. Her poker highlight is playing poker with her 8-year-old grandson.  
By the time the level ended, Shrestha had climbed to an almost insurmountable peak with about 680,000 chips to roughly 170,000 for Urban, 140,000 for Saladino and 34,000 for Vecere.
Blinds were now 8,000-16,000 with 2,000 antes. On the first hand, Vecere moved her last 32,000 in with A-6. Shrestha, who could do no wrong tonight, called from the small blind with 9-8. The board came 10-5-3-6-9, and Shrestha had knocked out five out of the six players to go out at the final table.
Vecere was paid $4,592 for fourth. Vecere, 55, a paralegal from Margate, New Jersey, has been playing half a century after learning the game from her grandmother. She’s married with two children and just became a grandmom, and has played several Circuits. Her poker highlight was  a three-way chop at a Taj Poker Classic event.
The three ladies left now made their deal, this event was over, and Shrestha had lots to tell her classmates.
Saladino took third, paying an official $5,248. She is 27, a secretary, and her nickname is Granny G. A friend taught her to play four years ago, and this is her fifth Circuit. Her other hobbies are movies, animals, dancing, food and music. 
For her second-place finish, Urban, a poker player, earned an official $10,496. She is 50, from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and previously worked in a seashell museum. She has two sons and two grandsons, grew up playing poker, and has played hold’em four years. She plays all ladies Circuit events. She has a sixth at a Borgata/WPT ladies event and won a seat into the $10,00 Borgata Winter Open. Her other hobbies are travel and shell collecting. —Max Shapiro