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Nella Lawson, who just missed winning the December tournament, won the final World Series of Poker No-Limit Hold'em Poker qualifier Saturday at the Nugget.

In December, Lawson lost to Jackie Polansky in the first-ever showdown between women in the qualifying series. Saturday, Polansky finished fourth. Completing the top five were Rob Reddick, who was second; Ray Guin, third, and Joan Sands, fifth.

In the final hand, Lawson was dealt 9-10 offsuit, while Reddick had A-J suited. The flop gave Lawson an open-end straight draw, which was achieved when a 6 hit the board on the turn.

The championship tournament will be played at the Nugget Feb. 16, starting at noon. The top 30 in points will play for five $2,000 seats in the 2008 World Series of Poker, to be contested May 30-July 16 in the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino.

Lawson, who two victories in the year-long series of free roll tournaments, is the points leader with 25. Rollie Batayola, who led the 2006-2007 free-roll standings, had 24 points.

A prize pool of $2,100 was at stake Saturday, when more than 40 players started.

Out of 32 players who have recorded at least one point in the first 10 free roll tournaments, five are women. Patti Franzen, Joan Sands and Jean Selzer have one point each.

Players qualified for a free roll by completing 40 or more hours of live play in a calendar month.

According to Jeff Von Alst, the poker room manager, there will be no WSOP qualifying series in the 2008-2009 season. What promotion will replace the series has yet to be determined.

NOTES -- There will be six $2,000 buy-in events at the 2008 World Series of Poker May 30-July 16 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas ... The dates are June 4 (no-limit hold'em), June 8 (Omaha high-low split 8 or better), June 10 (limit hold'em), June 12 (no-limit hold'em), June 20 (pot-limit hold'em) and June 27 (no-limit hold'em) ... Of the 55 events, there are 29 with buy-ins of $2,000 or less, including the Casino Employees no-limit hold'em tournament July 7, which has a $500 buy-in ... The first event is a $10,000 pot-limit hold'em tournament starting May 30 ... Other tournaments with at least a $10,000 buy-in are June 4 (limit-no-limit hold-em), June 7 (seven-card stud), June 13 (heads-up no-limit hold'em), June 15 (limit hold'em), June 19 (Omaha hi-low split), the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E championship June 22, June 29 (pot-limit Omaha), and the WSOP Championship tournament, which runs July 3-16 ... H.O.R.S.E. is hold'em (limit), Omaha hi-low split, razz (stud low), seven-card stud, and eight or better stud.

The standings

The unofficial Nugget Free-Roll No-Limit Texas hold-em poker tournament standings, through Jan. 12:

1, Nella Lawson 25 points

2. Rollie Batayola 24

3. Buzz Busbee 16

4. Rupert Hodnett 15

5. Jim Robertson 14

6. Andy Lytle 13

7. Bob Black 13

8. Buzz Busbee 13

9. Jackie Polansky 12

10. Tom Duke 11

11. Rob Reddick 10

12. Troy Tillett 10

13. Terry Farrington 10

14. Bill Bayne 10

15. Blackie Harms 9

16. Barry Moffett 7

17. Ray Guin 6

18. Doug Gregory 5

19. Walter Mellon 5

20. Dave Von Alst 4

21. Jim Vickers 3

22. Rene Soto 3

23. Jason Earnest 3

24. Brian McCaffery 2

25. Ron Kaltenbach 2

26. Gary Horvitz 2

27. Andy Franzen 2

28. Russ Eleogram 1

29. Patti Franzen 1

30. Jean Selzer 1

31. Joe Beaupre 1

32. Joan Sands 1

The top 30 players will compete in the finals at the Nugget at noon Feb. 16.