MASHANTUCKET -- Few people would accuse poker fan April Dora of being a fair-weather fan, even though she switched sides during the World Poker Finals $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship Thursday at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

No female player has ever won a noninvitational World Poker Tour event and Dora, 26, was among the local women cheering for Long Island native Kathy Liebert, 39.


Liebert was one of two women out of six players in the finals. She began play in second place, but after she finished fifth out of 608, Dora began cheering for Liebert's rival, Vietnam native Mimi Tran, 46.

"I'm very impressed two women are at the final table," Dora said. "A woman needs to win this. I think people who say women are inferior players are just scared of us, because I've heard guys say they can't tell whether a girl is lying."

After playing professionally for 15 years and rising to a No. 42 world ranking, Liebert said she's surprised the presence of two women in the finals still raises eyebrows.

"I'm not just a top woman player, I'm a top player and lots of women are top players," Liebert said. "I'm going to win one of these tournaments. The day will come."

Several people watching the finals, including Seth Traystman, 45, of Ledyard, said they thought Tran or Liebert could win the event's $1.7 million first-place prize.

"I think stereotypes have been broken down for a long time," Traystman said. "Any person who's a real player wouldn't look down on anyone."

In the end, former Canadian college student and Serbian native Nenand Medic, 23, won the tournament.

West Palm Beach, Fla., insurance agency owner E.G. Harvin, 58, took second, winning $904,389, followed by pro players Tran and Michael Omelchuck, 27, of Bellport, N.Y. Electrical contractor Michael G. Perry, 40, of Oakland, Maine, finished sixth.