Return to WSOP Main Event pays off for local pro Danielle Andersen

The last time Danielle Andersen entered a tournament at the World Series of Poker, it was still being held at the Rio.

For a variety of reasons from family vacations to COVID, the professional poker player from Henderson opted not to play the past four years. And she wasn’t going to enter the Main Event this summer, either.

“I was kind of on the fence because I’m so out of practice. I was like, ‘Should I really just be hopping into a $10K?’” she said. “And my husband was like, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Go register for the Main Event.’

“I’m glad it worked out this year, obviously.”

Andersen was one of four women remaining in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship at the start of Day 6 on Friday at Horseshoe Las Vegas. She was eliminated in 116th place and earned $100,000.

Shundan Xiao of San Jose, California, unofficially had a top-five chip stack at the 7 p.m. dinner break, while Kristen Foxen, a four-time WSOP event winner, unofficially was just outside the top 10 in chips. Ma Li finished 90th for $100,000.

The only woman to reach the WSOP Main Event final table was Barbara Enright, who finished fifth in 1995.

Professional poker player Orson Young of Oceanport, New Jersey, was the unofficial leader with 84 players remaining in the chase for the $10 million first prize. The Main Event continues Saturday with Day 7.

Andersen was featured in the 2013 film “Bet Raise Fold” about online poker, and a year later she moved with her family from New Ulm, Minnesota, after signing a sponsorship deal with Station Casino’s Ultimate Poker. The site ceased operations in 2014 after falling short of financial projections.

For the past decade, Andersen, known by her screen name “dmoongirl,” has remained one of the poker community’s most popular figures.

She is a prolific cash-game player, and her latest score pushed her live career tournament earnings past $229,000, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database.

“Poker is still a big part of my life, just in a different way,” Andersen said.

This was Andersen’s third cash in the Main Event to go with her 402nd-place showing in 2017 and 301st-place finish in 2019, the last time she entered. On her final hand Friday, Andersen called an all-in bet from Jason Sagle of Canada holding straight and flush draws, but the final two cards were no help and she was eliminated.

Andersen also had a lucky 1 percent piece of Britton Barclay from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in this year’s tournament.

Two years ago, Andersen and Barclay were on a flight from Minnesota to Las Vegas and started talking about poker, Andersen said. She gave him $100 for 1 percent of his action in that year’s Main Event, but Barclay was unable to play. He didn’t enter last year, either.

But on July 2, Andersen received a text from Barclay telling her the $100 from two years ago was being rolled into this year’s Main Event. Barclay and Andersen were briefly seated together on Day 6, and Barclay finished in 111th place for $100,000.

“I’ve just been soaking it in,” Andersen said before her elimination. “Obviously it’s exciting. I feel privileged to experience it. At the same time, I’ve felt this weird sense of cool, calm and collected throughout the tournament. I had under (average) stack for almost the whole tournament, and I just have been patient with that and done what I can.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.