Most Famous Female Gamblers of Today

Last Updated on 10 July 2025

For a reason unclear, it is believed that women are not good at gambling. This opinion probably comes from statistics showing that men constitute over 50% of the gambling population, especially when talking about online gambling.

However, doing something a lot does not mean one is really proficient at the activity. In fact, many women show amazing skills at casino games, and can even make this activity their career. Several women have become legendary players and made a fortune at a casino table.

What’s even more important, these women helped change public perception of gambling as a male-only space. Through their success, they proved that talent, focus, and strategy are not gender-specific.

Gladys Knight

Gladys has made an impressive career as a singer and entertainer, due to her outstanding voice and talent. She actually won around seven Grammy awards and was nicknamed the Empress of Soul. However, this is only one part of her life, because the other part is actually skillful casino gambling.

Gladys is an experienced baccarat and blackjack player, and talks a lot about her gambling in her autobiography. She shares that she discovered casino games by accident and was almost immediately interested and charmed by the concept of a game of chance.

Although she struggled with gambling addiction at times, Knight has been sharing her experience, offering insight into the danger of high-stakes games. Her story reminds us that even celebrities are not immune to the emotional pull of casinos. This is why it is important to be careful when choosing a free chip casino no deposit for Canadian players and opt for sites that follow responsible gambling policies.

Claudine Williams

Claudine was one of the owners and managers of the Holiday Casino in Las Vegas, and has made an impressive contribution to the development of this casino house in particular, and to the gambling industry in Las Vegas in general. Before she started to operate a big casino in Las Vegas, Claudine ran her own gambling club for locals before she even turned 21.

Her vast experience comes from her childhood; she learned almost all possible games of chance when she was still a little girl. Already, as the owner of Holiday Casino, Claudine became the first woman to be inducted into Nevada’s Gaming Hall of Fame.

Not only a brilliant gambler, but also an experienced manager, Claudine was one of the few people who devoted their lives to making the gambling industry more transparent and safe.

Vanessa Selbst

Vanessa is one of the most famous poker players in the world, let alone one of the most famous female gamblers globally. Vanessa obviously has a natural talent. By participating in live poker tournaments, Vanessa has earned around $12,000,000.

Moreover, she already owns three World Series of Poker bracelets with her name, and what is even more impressive, she is the only female player who has won all three bracelets in open poker events. Even though, at the time of writing, Vanessa has stopped taking part in poker tournaments, she is the only woman to have managed to reach number 1 in the Global Poker Index.

She also has a law degree from Yale and has worked at a hedge fund. This actually makes her one of the most intellectually diverse professional gamblers out there. Her analytical skills, combined with an aggressive playing style, contributed to her ability to dominate.

Annette Obrestad

This Norwegian gambler started playing online poker games when she was 15, and by the early 2000s, she had won around $1million, in summary.

Annette appeared on the list of the 100 best online poker players in the world, and in 2007, she played through an entire tournament without looking into her cards even once, making all her decisions by calculating the probabilities shown by the other players’ cards.

After that, Annette became massively popular and took part in many live events. Before she turned 19, she won the European World Poker Series.

Kirsten Bicknell

Kirsten, a professional Canadian gambler, started playing casino games in her first year of university and took part in almost every tournament available to her. In 2013, she won over $170,000 as the main prize at the Ladies No Limit Hold’em Championship in the World Poker Series.

Kirsten is famous all over the world, taking part in tournaments in Australia and Europe. As of recent years, her total live earnings exceed $5 million, and she remains one of the most active and respected female pros in the game.

Final Thoughts

These short stories of female gamblers’ success show that women can be quite good at real money gambling, and can even make a career in this niche if they want. Today, it is even easier than before, due to numerous online gambling platforms and competitions.

These women not only achieved personal victories but also redefined what success in gambling can look like. As online gambling grows, the number of talented female players is likely to rise even further, bringing more balance, competition, and innovation to the gambling world.