On Tuesday, the World Poker Tour announced that, after three seasons, anchor Kimberly Lansing will step down from her position. Lansing, the first female anchor of a major poker series, will be passing the torch to PokerNews hostess Lynn Gilmartin.
Gilmartin, who was recently brought aboard the WPT team to anchor the Alpha8 high roller broadcasts on Fox Sports 1, will begin her new duties at the first stop of Season XII at the WPT Legends of Poker.
“Kimberly will always be part of the WPT family, even if she’s no longer sitting in the anchor’s chair,” WPT President Adam Pliska said in a statement. “We’re saddened by her departure as Kim helped define the anchor role and elevate the World Poker Tour episodes to another level. We’re thrilled that Lynn is able to step in and carry on the tradition of providing the expertise and fun Kim has brought to our events and broadcasts over the past few years.”
ABOUT CARDPLAYER, THE POKER AUTHORITY CardPlayer.com is the world's oldest and most well respected poker magazine and online poker guide.Since 1988, CardPlayer has provided poker players with. 2004, when Caroline Flack became involved in the poker industry, when she became the hostess of the European Poker Tour, similar to the World Poker Tour in the US. European Poker Tour is a televised series of high-stakes texas holdem games that feature some of the best poker players in the whole world and that was sponsored by the PokerStars. Directed by Aaron Sorkin. With Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera. The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. She is known as one of the top ranked female poker players in the world and for competing on the 15th season of The Amazing Race. Ho is currently a co-host and commentator on CBS Sports The Final Table, the celebrity spokesperson for the WinStar World Casino, and the host of the Battle of Malta poker tournament.
PokerNews reached out to Gilmartin, who is excited for the opportunity.
'I'm overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude to be given this opportunity,' Gilmartin said. 'It is such an honor to kick off the incredible Alpha8, and to now take over the reins from someone I've admired for many years on the World Poker Tour? It's official — dreams really do come true.'
Gilmartin adds that her experiences with both PokerNews and ESPN Australia have played a paramount role in her career advancement.
'My years at PokerNews have been invaluable. I've built many great friendships with so many people in poker, learned to produce my own segments, adjust to a life of constant travel, and most importantly host a show,' Gilmartin said. 'As I don't come from a TV background, my experience with ESPN also helped immensely in easing into the industry and has really set me up to feel more ready than ever to take on this huge responsibility with the World Poker Tour. I couldn't be more grateful for the path I've been on, and the path I'm about to take.'
Wpt Poker Female Host
Lansing's final television appearance will be on Thursday at the WPT Foundation Ladies' Night Invitational, where she will be joined by Vanessa Rousso, Lily Kiletto, Jessica Dawley, and Liz Lieu. Sunny Joo Chen, who earned her place at the table by winning the LIPS US Ladies Poker Championship event at the Bicycle Casino, will occupy the sixth seat.
The six women will be playing to raise money and awareness for a variety of worthy women’s charities, including the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, the Breast Cancer Awareness Association, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), We Advance, the National Council for Research on Women, and the Domestic Violence Project of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. This event will be televised on the FOX Sports Network in early 2014.
World Poker Female Hosts
Photo by Shannon Morris
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“May all your cards be live and your pots be monsters.”At one time, every World Poker Tour broadcast ended with this iconic quote. That’s likely to change with the upcoming Season XVI.
That’s not because it has become somewhat dated, nor was there any kind of public uproar demanding a change. It’s simply because the iconic commentator who coined the phrase — Mike Sexton — is leaving.
Mike Sexton: Legendary player and host
Mike Sexton, the Poker Hall of Fame member and poker legend who has been the voice of the WPT since it launched in 2002, is dropping the mic. He’s walking away and taking this, and a myriad of other memorable poker phrases he made famous, with him.
Wpt Poker Female Host
“It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the World Poker Tour since its inception in 2002,” Sexton said in a statement. “When the World Poker Tour launched, it was a dream come true. To be there from the beginning and see how the WPT changed the poker world forever by essentially turning poker into a televised sport has been amazing.”
The tight-knit poker community isn’t likely to forget Sexton’s contribution to the WPT, or the game as a whole, anytime soon. Partly because he’s not going too far. Sexton has signed up to become an executive with PartyPoker. He will apparently guide the international online poker site with an increasing interest in live events in the future.
A true poker champion
Sexton also won his first WPT title this past season at the WPT Montreal Main Event. This made him a member of the WPT Champions Club. It also made him eligible to play in the annual WPT Tournament of Champions. It’s the type of event that has Sexton’s name all over it. He’ll likely show up for it for years to come.
Sexton is a poker legend with more than $6.5 million in tournament winnings. Plus, he has titles from the biggest poker events in North America, including a WSOP bracelet.
He traveled regularly from Nevada to New Jersey and everywhere the WPT would go around the world. His enthusiasm for the game was evident with every broadcast. In fact, it helped put the WPT and the game itself on the map.
The WPT will not be the same without him. But of course, the show must go on.
The show must go on for the WPT
Sexton’s 15-year partner in the booth, Vince Van Patten, is sticking around. Plus, the host of the biting and entertaining WPT Raw Deal segment for the past seven years, a WPT title holder himself, Tony Dunst will be taking over for Sexton.
Dunst is all class. He represents the perfect choice to try and fill the shoes of a legend. Mostly because he won’t even try to.
“While I have substituted for Mike and Vince several times over the years, getting the call to take a position in the WPT commentary booth full time is an incredible opportunity,” Dunst said. “Mike Sexton set the standard for what it means to be an ambassador, and the positive impact he had on my career and the broader poker community cannot be overstated.
“I’m honored to be taking his seat in the booth next to the legendary Vince Van Patten; and while I intend to bring my own style to the position, Mike will be a lasting inspiration for how I carry myself and treat people within poker. The success and popularity of the World Poker Tour are the result of the culture he created here.”
His cards were live, his pots were monsters
In countless interviews over the years, Sexton has referred to his signature closing of each WPT broadcast as his trademark. He’d say that no matter where he was in the world, fans would walk by and shout it out to him.
The thing is, he never got tired of hearing it. Mostly because to him, it meant people were watching the show. The fact is, it meant they were watching him.
Even though Sexton is walking away from the WPT after 15 years, its clear they still will be, no matter where he goes.
Image by World Poker Tour used under license CC BY-ND 2.0