Women’s Poker Week 2026: Omaha 8 Thrives at South Point

Women’s Poker Week 2026 delivers another strong Omaha 8 day

Women’s Poker Week 2026 kept rolling at South Point Casino with another event that highlighted why this series has become so meaningful for the women’s poker community. The $240 LIPS Omaha 8 Championship was a clear success, not just because it produced a champion, but because it brought together a field that proved there is real appetite for mixed games when the environment is welcoming and the structure is well run.

A total of 34 players entered the event, which is a solid turnout for Omaha Hi-Lo. Mixed games are always harder to fill than No-Limit Hold’em because they ask players to be competent in multiple variants, not just one. That makes every decent field size in a format like this a positive sign for the game’s long-term health.

The event also showed why the broader ecosystem matters. Players who want to sharpen their skills in multiple formats can benefit from poker school, while the rooms and venues that support these games — including poker rooms and poker clubs — help keep mixed games alive by giving them a regular home.

South Point, LIPS, and the atmosphere that keeps players coming back

The Women’s Poker Association and LIPS Ladies International Poker Series were on site to celebrate the winners with trophies and swag bags, and that detail says a lot about the tone of the week. In poker, the payout matters, but so does recognition. For many players, especially in women’s events, the experience of being welcomed and respected can be just as important as the final placement.

Tournament Director Aaron Crouch made it clear that South Point values its reputation as a safe and inviting room for women’s events. That kind of commitment is not just PR language. It shapes whether players return, whether they bring friends, and whether a series develops the trust needed to grow year after year.

The friendliness of the dealers, staff, and directors also helps explain the turnout. Poker is competitive, but the best events combine competition with comfort. That balance is one reason Women’s Poker Week continues to matter: it creates a space where players can focus on the game without feeling like outsiders.

Final table drama in Omaha Hi-Lo

The final five were mostly familiar faces, and that usually creates a very interesting endgame. Regulars tend to know one another’s tendencies, which raises the strategic level of the table. In Omaha Hi-Lo, that matters even more because the format already demands careful hand selection, split-pot awareness, and discipline around drawing to the right side of the board.

An ICM chop came up several times during the final table, but the players ultimately chose to keep battling for the trophies. That decision is easy to understand. A trophy in a series like this carries meaning beyond the prize money, especially when the field includes players who are deeply invested in the community.

The final table results were:

• Nhung Cardero finished 5th in her first Omaha Hi-Lo tournament.
• Shannon Romero took 4th and continued her pattern of deep runs.
• Robin Wittman earned 3rd after a steady, disciplined afternoon.
• Tammy Allen finished 2nd and added the WPA trophy to her record.
• Espy Enriquez won the title and the LIPS trophy.

Player stories: Cardero, Romero, Wittman, Allen, and Enriquez

Nhung Cardero’s run was one of the more encouraging storylines of the event. Exploring mixed games can be intimidating at first, but she turned her first Omaha Hi-Lo tournament into a cash finish and a fifth-place result. That is exactly the kind of result that can motivate a player to keep studying and keep expanding her game.

Shannon Romero’s fourth-place finish fits the profile of a player who knows how to navigate deeper stages. Players who regularly cash at venues like Isleta Resort & Casino in Albuquerque usually have a combination of patience, timing, and table awareness, and that showed again here.

Robin Wittman’s third-place finish reflected the value of consistency. In a format where overplaying the wrong side of a hand can be costly, a disciplined approach often performs better than flashy aggression.

Tammy Allen, meanwhile, reinforced why she has been so successful in LIPS Omaha Hi-Lo events. She previously won this exact tournament two years ago and has already shown strong results at South Point earlier this year. She said she came mainly to have fun and to play with the ladies, but she also admitted her primary goal was to make the final table. Along the way, a few calculated risks paid off, helping her double up and build the stack she needed for another deep run.

Espy Enriquez ultimately took the victory, and her path to the title was one of the best comeback stories of the week. She does not regularly play Omaha Hi-Lo tournaments and had not played a tournament in quite some time, but she made the trip specifically to support Lupe Soto and the women’s poker community. Starting the final table with one of the shortest stacks, she battled back all the way to the top. That kind of resilience is a reminder that tournament poker often rewards patience and timing as much as volume.

Enriquez also made a thoughtful gesture by giving the second trophy to Allen, who had never won one before. In a game built around competition, those moments of generosity stand out and say a lot about the culture around women’s events.

Player of the Day: Anjali Singhai’s path through study and confidence

The Player of the Day feature centered on Anjali Singhai, and her poker journey is a strong example of how modern players can build real progress through study, coaching, and community. Originally from California and now living in central Pennsylvania, she fell in love with poker after turning 21 and quickly started making trips to Las Vegas, even when she had only $100 in her wallet.

Her first spark came during a poker lesson on a cruise ship. One instructor pointed to a tournament on television and told her, “You should be here.” The player on screen was Jennifer Harman, who later became one of Singhai’s biggest inspirations. That kind of moment matters because it gives players an image of what is possible and who they can model their game after.

Singhai then built her foundation in a local bar league and played recreationally for years. About five years ago, she decided to take the game much more seriously. She studied through Poker Queens, took coaching including lessons from Victoria Livschitz, known as “Trekker,” joined the Mentor Coalition, and most recently began working with Octopi Poker. Each step added another layer to her understanding of the game.

Away from the tables, Singhai works as an emotional intelligence coach and teaches for Poker Power, helping more people get introduced to the game. Her pre-tournament mindset is simple but powerful: “Have fun, trust your gut, don’t play scared poker.” That approach captures a truth many players learn the hard way — confidence is not the same as recklessness, and the best results often come from making clear decisions without fear.

For players looking to build a similar foundation, studying strategy and choosing the right learning environments matters as much as volume. That is why resources like promotions & bonuses can help bankroll planning, while opportunities connected to a poker agent can also be relevant for players exploring broader pathways in the game.

Expert analysis: why this Omaha 8 result matters

The $240 LIPS Omaha 8 Championship matters for more than the trophies handed out at the end. It offers a useful snapshot of where mixed games and women’s events stand right now.

First, a field of 34 in Omaha Hi-Lo is meaningful because it shows there is a real player base for non-Hold’em formats. That matters for the poker economy as a whole. The more players embrace mixed games, the more room there is for varied tournament schedules, richer skill development, and a broader understanding of poker beyond a single variant.

Second, the final table reinforced an important strategic lesson: Omaha 8 is not just about making hands, it is about making the right hands. Players need to think about scoop potential, low-board texture, and when a medium-strength holding is actually a trap. That is why experience in the format can matter so much.

Third, the event underlined the value of women’s series as community builders. The combination of trophies, swag bags, welcoming staff, and a room that actively cares about women’s events creates a product that players remember. In a competitive market, that memory translates into loyalty.

From a poker-development perspective, the stories from this final table suggest three practical takeaways:

• Study mixed games if you want to expand your tournament edge.
• Value venue reputation and atmosphere, because they affect participation.
• Do not underestimate short-stack comeback potential in formats with complex decision trees.

The fact that Enriquez won after starting near the bottom of the chip counts is especially instructive. It shows that in Omaha Hi-Lo, a patient rebuild can still be enough to win if you pick your spots well and avoid costly mistakes.

Final thoughts on the Women’s Poker Week 2026 Omaha 8 Championship

Women’s Poker Week 2026 continued to do what the best series do: combine competitive poker with a genuine sense of community. The Omaha 8 Championship at South Point was a strong event in its own right, but it also served a bigger purpose by showing that mixed games can draw respectable fields when the environment is right.

For the players, it was a chance to compete, connect, and collect meaningful results. For the organizers, it was further proof that women’s events and mixed games can thrive together. And for the broader poker world, it was another reminder that the game’s future is healthier when it includes more formats, more voices, and more ways to play well.

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