Being first woman to win poker title a big deal to Duke

LAS VEGAS - Annie Duke, a mother of four, outlasted nine poker legends - including her brother - to win the first-ever World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and its $2 million prize. Duke, who holds a double-major from Columbia University and did graduate studies in cognitive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is the first woman to win a multimillion-dollar payday in poker. "This was an unbelievable opportunity, and the biggest win of my career," Duke said. "I hope that a lot of women will now enter this game and realize it's not just your husband's, boyfriend's or brother's Wednesday night poker game - that this is something that you can do on an equal footing with men." Duke, the only woman to play in the tournament, beat the biggest names in poker, including her brother, Howard Lederer, who finished third. Duke took the title after knocking out 1989 World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth. Two-time World Series of Poker champions Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson ('76, '77) and Johnny Chan ('87, '88), 2004 champion Greg Raym, and T.J. Cloutier, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Chip Reese rounded out the competition. The Daily News profiled Annie Duke in May. To read Mark Kram's story, go to our Web site at http://go.philly.com/poker