Persigner Enjoying Her WPT World Championship Experience Thanks to WPT Global

A number of poker players in the WPT World Championship field at Wynn Las Vegas received entries thanks to promotions available from WPT Global Ambassadors who won tournament seats via WPT Global satellites.

LoriAnn Persinger - a US Navy Veteran and former poker tournament reporter for Poker News, the World Series of Poker and Hold’em Media - received her entry via a contest held by WPT Global Ambassador and YouTube Vlogger Andrew Neeme. The challenge was to explain within one 280-character Tweet what the game of poker means to you and why you are passionate about poker.

A Navy veteran who LOVES POKER: Fmr Poker Media mbr; worked in Cali and LV poker rooms; play in poker charities; watch poker vlogs/live streams almost everyday (watching the WSOPE Colossus FT right now); grinds 2-3 low stakes tourneys a week; been watching @WPT for 20 yrs.

— LoriAnn Persinger (@LoAnPer66) November 7, 2022

Persinger’s words worked, Neeme selected her entry and she was off to the WPT World Championship. She needed no travel assistance, as she lives in Las Vegas and is a regular in smaller-stakes daily tournaments across the city.

“I just wanted to have a great time when I came here,” said Persinger. “Honestly, I just wanted to make Day 2, that was literally my only goal.”

Great Start to Her Tournament

Playing in her largest buy-in tournament ever, Persinger said she was a bit nervous leading up to the WPT tournament, but she was thrilled and grateful for the opportunity when December 12 rolled along and it was time for her tournament experience to begin.

I have no idea how far this journey will take me, but I’m damn happy and grateful to be along for the ride. I’ve already said this many times but once more won’t hurt, thank you THANK YOU @andrewneeme @WPT @wpt_global for this AMAZING opportunity and experience!!

She never seemed to be in a tough spot throughout her Day 1B competition, ending the night bagging a 229,000 stack as she settled in for next day’s run toward the money. Same as her opening day, Persinger seemed well in control throughout Day 2, bagging a huge 1,155,000 stack and found herself just 29 players from the money when Day 3 began.

Feature Table Time

No nerves kicked in as the money bubble popped or as Persinger’s stack climbed to more than 2 million, and then more than 3 million as the day moved along. The nerves started to show up, however, when she learned she was chosen to play the final level of the day on the stage with players at the livestreamed feature table.

“I texted my husband and told him and I got nervous for a bit,” she said, but her experience as a tournament reporter helped her settle.

“I’ve been covering so many tables (as a reporter) that I think it helped me feel more comfortable once I was up (at the feature table), '' said Persinger. “Once I got the nerves out and started chatting with the other people at the table - who were all very nice - I loved every minute of being up there.”

A Big Loss

We were talking together right after she bagged her stack for Day 4, and the large monitors in the Encore Ballroom were showing a hand where she lost 45 percent of her stack with trip Kings to a player who connected on Threes full of Kings. She talked about the emotion of that hand, and the one coming next.

“I worked all day to get here, and now I lost (almost) half my stack in one hand. Maybe I could have done something different but that just felt like the way I needed to play the hand,” said Persinger.

Then a Big Win

Now, that next hand. We sit together as the same opponent who took her chips now has Kings and places a large bet out. Persinger, sitting on his left, looks down and has Aces.

She placed out a large raise, he moved all-in and she quickly called off her 1.5 million stack. Her Aces held and the night came to a close shortly thereafter. She bagged 3,055,000 to    move on to Day 4 today sitting in 40th out of the 128 still in the tournament.

Persinger draws a Saturday tournament table placing her to the right of tournament notables Jeff Madsen and 2015 WPT World Champion Asher Conniff, and as expected, she and every one of the remaining 128 players have their hands full as they aim to make a deeper run into Sunday, with a shot at the final table and a $4,146,400 million first prize.

Friends and Family Enjoying Her Success

“I am so overwhelmed right now,” said Persinger as we started talking, while she was looking at her phone and seeing so many texts from friends sending messages and congratulations about her success so far in the tournament. 

The hand then showed on screens throughout the tournament arena of Persinger winning with Aces and the texts went into overdrive, her phone a constant buzz of replies coming from friends as her night drew to a close.

Persinger earned her experience from Twitter, and I earned what I asked for when I read her Tweet posted as her entry to try and win her seat. Play well, LoriAnn, and continue to enjoy the ride.

As much as I want to ask her to come out of poker media retirement to write some player profiles during that event, it would be SO much more fun for me to write for @wpt_global about her winning the tournament

— Dan Ross