Kristy Gazes

Hailing from Torrance, California, Kristy Gazes was set to make a career in the entertainment industry before poker caught her eye. After leaving school, Gazes worked as documentary filmmaker as an editor and a post-production coordinator. As she had yet to hit the big time, she was making very little money from her work and turned to poker to supplement her income.

Armed with her fake ID, a nineteen-year-old Gazes would sneak into casinos with her friends mainly to play Pai Gow. She soon looked for a new challenge and found her way to the 7-stud table, a game she had brief experience of from playing at home.

After six years of play in the Commerce Casino, Gazes went to the higher stakes tables in order to make a living from the game. She began mainly as a cash game player and would happily compete in as many game varieties as she could, earning herself the rather bland nickname of “Mixed Games” Gazes.

In 2003, Gazes entered the World Championship of Online Poker and was crowned champion of the Omaha High/Low Split event. Since then Gazes has put more focus on her tournament game and this has started to pay off in a big way. Gazes came second in the first series of the Ultimate Poker Challenge in 2004, a series that also marked her debut as a guest commentator.

In July 2005 she won the televised final table of the Full Tilt Poker Championship and happily collected the $250,000 prize money. More recently she enjoyed a 7th place finish in the No Limit Hold ‘em event at the Crown Aussie Millions Championship earning over $150,000 in January 2007. In the seven major events leading up to April 2007, Gazes has finished in the cash every single time.

In what can often be a dog eat dog world, especially for the select few successful women, Gazes has made a good friend in fellow player Shirley Rosario. The two met when Gazes worked as a host in The Bicycle Casino and they regularly keep in touch, often recommending each other’s services when they are unable to accept a book proposal or a TV appearance. Gazes also found love in the poker arena, Kristy married Bill Gazes but the two have now separated.

Gazes has made no secret of the fact that she doesn’t plan to stay in the game for much longer. As well as travelling the world for poker tournaments she often retreats to the sanctuary of Hawaii and it is her ambition to retire to Maui by her 50th birthday (in 2017). This will enable her to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle allowing her to devote more time to helping charitable organisations. However, she admits that she would find it hard to stay away from the game forever.