PokerWorks

The Queen of Hearts poker team has been a staple at the World Series of Poker for three years past, with a group of women playing the Ladies World Championship event with charity in mind. As the organizers prepared for the 2009 WSOP, the Queen of Hearts changed the plan a bit by allowing Harrah’s and the WSOP to take over management of the team.

The Queen of Hearts team has raised over $100,000 for various charities during the last three years of the WSOP - 2006 through 2008. The 2008 team featured 34 women, among them professional poker players, celebrities, and members of the business community, who played in the ladies-only event to raise funds and awareness for the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Tenner & Associates, a marketing firm, has been behind the success of the team thus far and is prepared to transition it over to Harrah’s and the World Series of Poker. Owner Lisa Tenner noted, “I am very appreciative of the efforts of all of the women that have participated on the Queen of Hearts team over the years and helped push its success to this level of recognition. I am proud that the Queen of Hearts is a part of the history, tradition, and the future of the WSOP.”

With the announcement that Harrah’s and the WSOP will be taking over management of the team, it seems that changes are in store. While it will likely continue to be an exclusively female group and certainly focus on charitable contributions, other improvements to the Queen of Hearts have yet to be announced. WSOP Commissioner did say, “We are looking into different options to make the Queen of Hearts more inclusive versus exclusive as it has been. We are looking into ways that every woman can take part in it.”

As the 2009 WSOP quickly approaches and prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Queen of Hearts team will no doubt play a role in the summer’s festivities.