WPTAPL

I bet you are wondering what those letters in the title represent.  I would not have known if Laura Abeyta-Martinez had not called me to let me know that she had won the World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Laura is my friend's daughter and when ever I speak with my friend, she mentions that her daughter plays poker. Yet, I never knew to what extent she played or that she was such an excellent player.

Not too long ago, I saw on Facebook that Laura had won a seat to play in Las Vegas. At the time, I thought, good for her, she gets to go to Vegas. This week I found out how serious she is about her poker games!  As she played and won she kept posting remarks on Facebook.  The first post came across on April 2: On my way to Vegas.  Her blurbs kept me waiting to hear what the next one would be: April 3:  Playing in the WPT right now please wish me well.

April 3:  OK FB Friends, please think happy thoughts for me because I finished today's tournament with 118,500 in chips and playing in the final game tomorrow.

April 3:  I'm in second place chip stack wise and in the top 5.  1st place is 123,000.  Later, I learned that she was actually in first place with her chip stack.

April 3: Tuesday - My big stack

April 4: Tournament is starting and this is my chip bag!

April 4: Over 900,000 chips.  I'm at the final table and I win a Flat screen TV, 32 inch.

April 5:  I won first place.  Thank you Jesus and Thank you all FB friends.

April 5: I WON!

The photos she put on FB are of a large silver cup and a super large card board with WPT Amateur Champion. April 2nd - 4th, 2012.

I noticed that her chips were always in front of her on the table in the shape of a cross. She was asked a couple of time to stack her chips so people could tell how many she had, but she ignored their requests and kept them in the shape of a cross. In the mean time, her mother, my friend, kept asking her deceased husband to watch over their daughter.

And then, the remarkable win that out of the 600 persons playing in the tournament she came out on top! She told me that she is the first woman to ever win the tournament. She also said,  "I felt like a celebrity with everyone congratulating me! I still can't believe it!"


After arriving home she told me she will never forget the past three days. "It's like a dream!" she exclaimed, "and I am still pinching myself because I find it hard to believe I actually took first place!"

I don't find it so difficult to believe because Laura is an outstanding person who always appears happy with a good sense of humor. She strikes me as someone who knows what she wants and she goes after it.  Her faith is one to be envied.  Her love for her family is admirable. She works hard, enjoys life and now that the $10,000 entry fee has been paid, she can look forward to playing with the professional poker players!