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Her thin, manicured fingers conceal her two red playing
cards.
The wedding ring shines in the glare of the lights as
she gently lifts her cards to peak at what she's been dealt. Her red hair
outlines an expressionless face as she glances around the table.
Finally, she grabs a heaping stack of green and black
chips and places her bet. One-by-one, the others at the table throw their
cards at the pile, wilting under the pressure of her high stakes bet. A
smile fills her face, and she gathers the pot.
Another win for Cheryl Hackstadt, a 54-year-old Greeley
mother who loves Texas HoldEm.
"It's the competition," Hackstadt said. "It's the
possibility that you might get a Royal Flush, that you might win."
Hackstadt arrived Saturday to the Best Western Regency
in Greeley along with 288 other poker enthusiasts to compete in the 2005
Northern Colorado Poker regional tournament with a $10,000 buy-in to the
2005 World Series of Poker on the line.
Hackstadt didn't win, but performed well, coming in
among the final 30.
The group began at 10 a.m., filling 40 tables in two
large rooms. By 2 p.m., the group had wittled down to 80. By 3 p.m., 50
players remained at seven tables. By 5 p.m., only eight players remained
playing at one table. Finally, at 6:30 p.m., a champion emerged, Kent D.
Willmann of Longmont.
Willmann has until Monday to choose between $7,500 cash
or a seat at the World Series of Poker July 7-15 in Las Vegas.
The room had enough sights and sounds to keep a
people-watcher busy all day.
Hats -- worn backward, forward and sideways -- sat on
top of the men's and women's heads. Sunglasses -- dark ones covering their
eyes, light ones resting on their hats or head, and sparkly ones dangling
from sweaters -- accessorized the players' clothes. Cell phones -- used to
psych out opponents or tell baby-sitters they'd be home late -- became part
of the play at each table.
Hackstadt stayed clear of those popular accessories. She
wore jeans with a yellow sweatshirt over a white blouse. At one point, she
put eye-drops in her eyes, but other than that they were uncovered the rest
of the time.
Hackstadt said she used to play "kitchen table" poker
before she and her husband, Daryl Hackstadt, had two children. But recently,
with her two children grown and on their own, she's rediscovered her passion
for Texas HoldEm. She said she plays three times a week and at home on the
Internet.
She said her two children just laugh about their
mother's pastime.
"This is a mom thing," she said. "An, 'Oh, Mom,' thing."
THE WINNERS
Northern Colorado Poker Regional Tournament
1st place -- Kent D. Willmann, Longmont, $7,500 or a
seat at the World Series
2nd place -- Bruce Sparrow, Keenesburg, $300
3rd place -- Mike Seaworth, Fort Collins, $100
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