PA Poker Player Cherish Andrews Earns Nearly $500,000 In December Tournament Winnings

Written By Anthony Cicali on December 22, 2022 - Last Updated on April 10, 2024
Image via Shutterstock

For Pennsylvania poker player Cherish Andrews, Christmas came early this year. The St. Thomas, PA resident racked up almost $500,000 in tournament winnings this past month.

Her accomplishments were enough that the World Poker Tour (WPT) named her No. 1  “Player of the Festival” at this year’s Wynn Poker World Championships.

Big wins at the Wynn

The WPT held their World Poker Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas from Dec. 1-19 and featured 23 tournaments. Guaranteed prize pools of more than $22 million were announced for the series.

Cherish Andrews went on an impressive run and scored multiple deep cashes. Besides the money, the points she accumulated allowed her to cruise to the top of the leaderboard. As a bonus, she was given a $10,000 seat into the 2023 World Championships.

In one week she accumulated the following scores:

  • $1,100 WPT NLHE (Dec. 19) – 1st, $131,912
  • $10,100 WPT NL High Roller (Dec. 18) – 2nd, $259,200
  • $3,000 WPT NLHE (Dec. 15) – 6th, $78,045

Andrews snags first WSOP Bracelet

The Wynn series wasn’t just a good run of luck, Andrews has been crushing all year long. Just recently, she won her first ever World Series of Poker Bracelet when she won an online event on Oct. 16. That win gave her some new hardware and $31,986 in the bank, as well. She had previously spoken to USpoker about her win and joked about the possibilities leading up to the tournament.

“Winning felt pretty good, I won’t lie,” says Andrews. “My boyfriend and I joke a lot on Sundays (when the bracelet events are running in Pennsylvania) and say, ‘We could literally win a bracelet.’ And I did, I won a bracelet.”

She hasn’t secured a circuit ring yet, but came close a few days after her bracelet win. The PA grinder came in second for $9,868 in circuit event No. 11 on Oct. 26.

This past summer, Andrews made an appearance at the WSOP live events in Las Vegas and reported over $40,000 in cashes. This included a final table appearance in the Ladies Event No. 61 that secured her $12,965. She finished ninth in that tournament.

Besides the WSOP, Andrews locked up sixth place in a $2,200 Wynn Mystery Bounty tournament. Just down the street from the WSOP, she was able to add another $72,105 to her bankroll, not including bounties.

BetMGM’s ‘The Return’ tops poker plans for 2023

Andrews has no plans on stopping the rush anytime soon. For her next endeavor, she has her eyes set on “The Return” series being hosted by BetMGM.

Expect to see Andrews firing in all the big events during that week.

The complete live series is as follows:

  • $2,200 NLH Mystery Bounty (Event 1, Jan. 2-3) – $1 million guaranteed
  • $560 NLH State Qualifier to Main Event (Event 2, Jan. 3) – 1 in 10 win
  • $5,400 NLH Main Event (Event 3, Jan. 4-8) – $1 million guaranteed
  • $2,100 NLH 1k Bounty (Event 4, Jan. 6-7) – $150,000 guaranteed
  • $1,100 NLH Survivor (Event 5, Jan. 7-8) – $100,000 guaranteed
Photo by Shutterstock.com
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