GARY PLAYERS GET (POKER) LESSONS (EXCERPT)

By Lisa DeNeal

Post Tribune – Northwest Indiana

March 28, 2004

What do a chief executive officer, a former nightclub owner, a former accountant, and a yoga-practicing vegetarian all have in common?

They are four of the top professional poker players in the United States.  Local and Chicago area poker players got to meet the fab four (Wendeen Eolis, Paul Darden, Tom McEvoy, and Cyndy Violette) at Trump Casino Saturday night during the grand opening of a new poker room.

Located on the top deck of Trump Casino, the room has many features, including big-screen televisions and a poker cage with 80 highly-trained gaming professionals.  Sure, the atmosphere was festive, but local players were interested in getting some secret tips on mastering the game from the masters.

Eolis has scored nine prize-winning performances in major competitions and holds seven record-setters for a woman, including three paydays in the World Series of Poker: 1986, 1993, and 2003.  She is listed in PokerPages’ Women Hall of Fame and was ranked in the top 10 list of female poker players by PokerTop10.com in 2003.  “A man taught me how to play the game while I was playing my first night of no-limit.  I won the game and he said I didn’t need to be around a man’s game!  Well, he offered me a cup of coffee and … and he taught me a lot, Eolis said.