2007 WSOP Event 29 - Seven-Card Razz $1,500

  Katja Thater is not exactly from the generation for whom the Spice Girls were considered the Zenith of "Girl Power". In fact if anybody serenaded the poker pro with "Wannabe" or "Spice Up Your Life" she may reasonabley respond by doing things to them with a deck of cards that would not only qualify as a crime against nature, but may change their whole outlook on life. Despite her generational disconnection from the late nineties pop sensations, she was the personification of "Girl Power" during Event 29 of the World Series of Poker.  This is her best finish ever during a World Series of Poker event. Earlier in the month she had a solid fifth place finish playing in Event 17, the Ladies World Championship No Limit Holdem tournament. Most people could happily go home with that money finish, and smugly bore friend, family, as well as strangers on the street with their story of WSOP top 10 finisher glory. Like a true competitor, fifth was simply not good enough though. As long as the season was in full swing, Katja was going to be there trying to win a bracelet.  She was not the biggest stack in the final bunch at Event 29, nor was she the smallest though. This meant she could skulk around, letting bigger stacks do damage to each other while she quietly amassed chips by picking on the weaker players at the table. Being the middle meant that she didn't have to rely on the sort of blind luck that was present when Kevin Federline showed up in the life of Britney Spears at the exact moment when she decided that general sanity wasn't working out for her, and perhaps being crazy as a loon might be a viable lifestyle choice.  Heads up play was no walk in the tulips. It took Katja a full 39 hands of Razz to put away the only one standing between her and the bracelet: Larry St. Jean. On hand #190 she finally vanquished her tired opponent and claimed her first WSOP championship.1Katja Thater$132,6532Larry St. Jean$73,3113O'Neil Longson$46,5474Paul (Eskimo) Clark$31,1865Denny Axel$24,2046Mark Vos$18,3867Thomas Daubert$14,1978Men (The Master) Nguyen$10,4739Mike Dreyer$7,215