WPT Ladies Championship down to final table

Vanessa Selbst looks to turn her Commerce Casino win into a WPT Ladies Championship win.

The ladies took over the Bellagio the last couple days to play out their inaugural World Poker Tour Ladies Championship. The 150-person field was whittled down to six on Monday, and now the ladies will have to wait 11 days to find out who the actual winner is.

Leading the pack into the final table will be Vanessa Selbst. With $182,200 in chips, Selbst has a considerable lead over the pack, with her nearest competitor being Nancy Todd Tyner with $107,400 in chips.

Selbst built up her lead steadily through two days of play in the championship. She was the chip leader after Day 1 as the playing field made its way down to the top 10 players by the end of the day.

Some of the poker pro casualties in Day 1 included Kathy Liebert, Jennifer Tilly, Evelyn Ng, JJ Liu, Shirley Williams, Anjela Brunson, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Lily Mizrachi, Sabyl Cohen and Maureen Feduniak.

In Day 2, Karina Jett, Erica Schoenberg, Jennifer Carson and Emeline Boich hit the bricks to leave the following ladies at the final table:

• Seat 1: Nancy Todd Tyner - $107,400
• Seat 2: Janice Kim - $32,900
• Seat 3: Cindy Kerslake - $16,400
• Seat 4: Vanessa Selbst - $182,200
• Seat 5: Donna Varlotto - $68,600
• Seat 6: Van Nguyen - $42,300

Selbst earned her spot in the WPT Ladies Championship by winning the WPT Ladies tournament at the Commerce Casino. She said during a WPT interview that she didn't consider anyone in particular a threat at the final table, but it was the most aggressive players who made the final table so it won't be an easy win.

Nguyen makes another final table.

Perhaps the most threatening of Selbst's opponents at the final table will be Van Nguyen. She built herself back up from being the short stack while 10-handed, and she already has a WPT win under her belt after taking down the Celebrity Invitational.

The final table will take place April 25, the day before the WPT World Championship final table, and be taped for future television broadcast.

The WPT World Championship will start Saturday at the Bellagio. Selbst confirmed she plans to buy into that event as well. Men "The Master" Nguyen is also hoping to duplicate his wife's success in the Ladies Championship with a win of his own in the World.

Stay tuned to PokerListings.com for live updates, reports and more in the Live Tournaments section when the event kicks off.

Related Articles:

• Selbst Captures WPTL Win
• Nguyen Wins WPT Celebrity Invitational