In May I was asked to write for Woman Poker magazine. My first article with them will be coming out in July. Some of my previous articles have appeared on the Lasvegasvegas.com poker blog. In addition, I was contacted by the Reno Gazette Journal. They were going to run story focusing on women in poker and they were interested in my perspective on the advantages and disadvantages that women have in playing poker.

I went to the Harrah's WSOP series in S. Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Once again my pocket Js bumped into pocket As. Is anyone noticing a pattern here? I wonder if that happens to people as often as it happens to me. I think I need to try something different with that hand like throw it out the minute I lay eyes on it. While in Lake Tahoe , I was interviewed by the local Tahoe newspaper.

I play frequently on Ultimatebet.com. I entered the UB Sunday $215 tournament. 639 people participated. I came in 6th place. I was knocked out when I called an all in with a loose player. He had A-6 suited; I had A-7 of a different suit. He caught his flush on the river.

My first episode on GSNs Poker Royale will be aired on May 13.

I spent the day with Stephanie Nishikawa from KOVR13, the local CBS affiliate in Sacramento. She is a general assignment reporter but is producing a segment featuring my poker school and my interest in promoting poker to women. We filmed at the Lucky Deby Casino and then went to Bunz and Company Sports Bar and Restaurant where I hold my classes. Stephanie was great and the filming was a lot of fun. The feature will be aired during the ten o'clock news on KOVR13 on May 17, 2005

The month of April was my busiest yet. I was asked to be part of the elite Ultimate Bet team. Promoting the sight also offered me yet another venue for promoting women in poker.

At about the same time as the UB offer, I was also invited to participate in the next GSN Poker Royale series; Celebrities vs. Poker Pros. I had a wonderful time. It was filmed at the Pechanga, a beautiful casino about an hour east of San Diego California . The rooms were spacious and beautiful. We had a basket of wine, fruit and sweets in our room. We had catered meals each day and parties each night. We were treated wonderfully by the GSN team. We had fulltime makeup, hair and wardrobe personnel. We all bonded so well for three days. I called my husband and asked him if I had to come home. That was the life.

I went to the Bellagio to play in the Bellagio Five Star Poker Classic events. The dreaded pocket Js reared their ugly heads again when I ran into Pocket As 9 out of the money. The night before the main event I went to the UB kick off party. We had a blast. I posted lots of Pictures in my Gallery. You can tell what a great time I had with Cyndi Violette. While I was in Las Vegas I also attended the first board meeting of the IPA.

The Lucky Derby Casino is a card club here in northern California . I worked with the club's owner to organize a monthly “Women Only” tournament. The first event took place on May 1, 2005 . Again, one of my students and a PMS Poker member made it to the final table.

I was contacted by the SUN (yes, the supermarket tabloid) about interviewing me for a story about women in poker. I was a little nervous about doing an article with a tabloid but they reassured me that they were really interested in doing a special interest story so I agreed to the interview. The article will run in the issue going on sale on May 23, 2005 . With any luck, my poker skills will not be attributed to an alien baby. Seriously, they were very nice and sent me a copy of the story that will run. It is a straight poker story.

In March I played in the Reno Hilton's $5k No-Limit event. I won a satellite to enter the tournament but got knocked out late on the first day when I got a bit too aggressive. I flopped a flush draw with a middle pair. Since the blinds were increasing and my chips were low I pushed all in. The first player to call was on a straight draw. The next player had decided to lay down his cards but since the player before him called the bet, the pot odds were worth playing his top pair. His top pair held up and he knocked us both out of the tournament.

A highlight for me however was when I brought 8 of my students to the women's only tournament at the Hilton. In our pink, white and black PMS Poker shirts I watched them play with excitement and fundamental skill. Two of my students made it to final table. I was very proud of them. The men that had stayed to watch the women play began asking for shirts and membership forms for their wives and girlfriends.

In February I met the owner of Brooks International, Maureen Brooks. She and David Chiu were meeting at the Commerce with the players to further their discussions with regard to putting together a poker trade association. I volunteered to be on the steering committee. I feel strongly about the need for a strong trade association to ensure the sustained popularity of poker. I envision a cooperative effort by players, sponsors and fans of poker with the single minded focus of continuing to grow the popularity of poker. My efforts resulted in my being elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the International Poker Association (IPA).

I also attended the LA poker classic. In the No Limit Shootout event I went heads up in a hand with Q-2. I flopped a set of deuces and slow played my hand on the turn. I bet on the river and my opponent put me all in. He showed K-2 and ended that tournament for me.

In another No–Limit event I was knocked out 9 out of the money. Although I played well the two hands that hurt me the most both started with pocket Jacks. In the first of these hands I raised the pot. One opponent went all in. I had him covered and I called. He showed pocket eights. The river and turn help neither of us but solidified the odds of my J's taking the pot. But the river revealed his third eight. In similar fashion, the next time I saw pocket Js, I flopped the set. I got one all-in bet and called. He turned over a Q-10 for the straight draw and caught his straight on the river. Amir Vahedi turned to me and told me to take a taxi back to my room. With the amount of bad luck I was having, driving myself could be much too hazardous.

Live well. Laugh often. Love much.

Roxci