Amy Houghtling Wins South Point Ladies Championship Title

Amy Houghtling claims the South Point title at Women’s Poker Week 2026

Women’s Poker Week 2026 delivered another packed day of action, with three tournaments running across Las Vegas and each one serving a different part of the women’s poker ecosystem. At South Point Casino, players returned for Day 2 of the $360 South Point LIPS Nevada State Ladies Championship. At the same time, the $200 Double Green Chip Bounty Survivor brought a very different kind of pressure to the same venue. Across town at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the $1,000 WSOP Ladies Championship continued its march toward Day 3 as players chased one of poker’s most coveted prizes: a World Series of Poker bracelet.

Against that backdrop, Amy Houghtling’s victory stands out as both a tournament result and a meaningful community moment. It was a win built on patience, resilience, and a deep connection to the women’s poker scene.

How the $360 South Point LIPS Nevada State Ladies Championship unfolded

The final day began with 68 players returning from a 249-entry starting field. The event generated a $74,700 prize pool, comfortably beating the $50,000 guarantee, and the top 36 finishers made the money. That structure matters. In women’s live poker, fields can be competitive but still welcoming, giving players a chance to develop live reads, stack management skills, and endgame discipline in a setting where the atmosphere often feels more supportive than intimidating.

Suzanne Chung once again delivered one of the week’s strongest performances. After finishing ninth in the Wynn Ladies Event, she made another deep run here and exited in sixth place. Back-to-back results like that are rarely accidental. They usually point to strong form, good decision-making, and a healthy ability to adjust to live tournament dynamics.

Final table storylines that made this event memorable

Jordan Handrich finished fifth, and her presence added one of the most inspiring storylines of the event. Many poker fans know her from her appearance as the Loose Cannon on the 2025 PokerStars Big Game Series, but her life away from the table carries even more weight. After suffering a stroke during a chiropractic visit, she lost her career and now travels with her service dog, Carmen. Through poker, Handrich hopes to raise awareness about the importance of allowing service dogs in poker rooms.

Her story is a reminder that poker can be more than competition. For some players, it is structure, mental stimulation, and a way back into community after life changes everything.

Alexandra Loveless finished fourth after another strong showing. It was her second final table of Women’s Poker Week, following a run to the final table of the Venetian Ladies Event earlier in the week. Loveless experienced a true roller-coaster of a stack, repeatedly climbing and falling before eventually bowing out after several hours of four-handed play. Her rail was loud and lively, with supporters including fellow content creator Abby Merk cheering her on.

Third place went to Gail Hand of Hawaii, whose run was one of the most emotional stories of the day. She started the final day with one of the shortest stacks in the field and fought all the way to the podium. Hand shared that she lost her entire family in 2024 and now dedicates much of her life to dog rescue. A significant portion of her poker winnings goes to rescue organizations, and every tournament brings back memories of learning the game from her brother when she was young.

Runner-up honors went to Anjali Singhai of Central Pennsylvania. She has played poker since turning 21 and, while cash games have been her main area of success, this was the largest tournament score of her career. That’s a familiar path for many live players: build confidence in cash, then transfer those skills into tournament settings where stack depth and pressure change every decision.

Amy Houghtling’s win and what it means for the women’s game

The title went to Amy Houghtling, a Women’s Poker Association Board member and one of the volunteers who helps oversee the organization’s Player of the Year race. That detail matters. Houghtling is not only a winner; she is also someone who actively helps support the growth and structure of the women’s poker calendar.

She is no stranger to success. Houghtling previously won a World Series of Poker Circuit ring in Cherokee and picked up a string of cashes during a LIPS series last December. “It was a good December,” she said with a smile. Summer in Las Vegas, however, had been rough. “This has been a brutal week, and I am glad I finally played well.”

The celebration that followed showed how respected she is within the women’s poker community. Friends and fellow competitors gathered around, and LIPS founder and CEO Lupe Soto was among the first to congratulate her. “Don’t leave until you hug me,” Houghtling told Soto, underscoring just how personal and connected this scene can be.

Houghtling also spoke passionately about what LIPS and the Women’s Poker Association have meant to her. She stressed how much Soto has done to grow the women’s game and explained that becoming an advocate was an easy decision because she wants more women to discover poker. In her view, greater female participation makes the game stronger for everyone.

Asked about the rest of the summer, Houghtling’s answer was simple: “To grind like crazy.” That may be the most honest tournament-poker answer possible. One win does not end the work; it usually starts the next stretch of it.

Expert analysis: why this result matters beyond one trophy

Houghtling’s victory is important on several levels. First, it reinforces the idea that women’s live series are no longer side attractions. They are real competitive arenas with meaningful fields, strong storylines, and a growing identity of their own. For players, that means more opportunities to compete in live environments where the learning curve is steep but the atmosphere is often more accessible.

Second, the final table highlights a key truth about tournament poker: resilience matters as much as technical skill. Gail Hand’s comeback from a short stack, Loveless’s ability to make another deep run, and Singhai’s breakthrough score all show different versions of the same lesson. In live MTTs, adapting to stack sizes, table dynamics, and emotional swings is part of the edge.

Third, Houghtling’s role within the Women’s Poker Association makes this win more than personal. When organizers, volunteers, and players all overlap, the ecosystem gets stronger. That’s good for the game’s long-term health and for the next generation of players who may discover poker through poker school, local poker clubs, or online promotions & bonuses that bring them into the game for the first time.

From a strategic standpoint, the week also reinforces the value of versatility. Players who can move between bounty formats, standard freezeouts, and bracelet events are the ones most likely to build consistent results. If you are serious about improving, studying ICM, endgame push-fold spots, and live adjustments is essential. For some players, even connecting with a poker agent can be part of a broader professional path.

Double Green Chip Bounty Survivor and the broader day in Las Vegas

The $200 Double Green Chip Bounty Survivor added a different strategic layer to the day. Regular bounty events already encourage action, but a survivor format changes the calculation even more. Every knockout was worth a $50 bounty, yet survival to the designated ending point remained crucial. That creates a constant tension between immediate reward and long-term tournament equity.

For live players, this is a valuable format because it trains timing. Knowing when to apply pressure, when to protect a stack, and when to pass on thin spots is often the difference between a short night and a meaningful score. The event also fits neatly into the broader Women’s Poker Week schedule, where local titles, side events, and WSOP-level prestige all coexist.

Meanwhile, the $1,000 WSOP Ladies Championship kept moving toward Day 3, reminding everyone that the week’s ceiling is very high. Some players are grinding for local trophies, while others are chasing a bracelet. Both goals matter, and both help shape the current landscape of women’s poker.

For players looking to follow similar events, it helps to keep an eye on poker rooms, live poker clubs, and the broader tournament calendar. The more you understand the ecosystem, the better you can choose the right events for your bankroll, skill set, and schedule.

Final table payouts and what comes next

The South Point Ladies Championship ended with a final table that reflected both competitive depth and personal resilience. Amy Houghtling took first for $15,277, followed by Anjali Singhai with $9,375, Gail Hand with $6,088, Alexandra Loveless with $3,996, Jordan Handrich with $2,951, Suzanne Chung with $2,577, Lesley Thompson with $2,241, Sheila Olsen with $1,942, and Jennifer Molan with $1,681.

The numbers matter, but the bigger story is the one Women’s Poker Week keeps telling: women’s poker is growing, diversifying, and producing more meaningful live moments every season. Houghtling’s win is a reminder that titles are important, but so is the community built around them. That combination is what makes a series like this worth following.

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