Elizabeth Bennett-Martin
Friend of the Irish Open Elizabeth Bennett-Martin – often dubbed “Lucky Lizzie” – is a lawyer, mediator, and recreational poker player from Canada. She has been competing at the Irish Open since 2016 – an annual pilgrimage that was kick-started after Dublin-based TD Nick O’Hara told her about the event during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. With her Irish ancestry, Ireland was already high on her bucket list and Elizabeth was excited to combine exploring the country with the chance to play poker at a major event.
Since then, Elizabeth has been back to the Irish Open every year except during the pandemic and has also encouraged dozens of other North American players to come along as well. She has cashed numerous times including runner-up in the Mini Irish Open her first year and taking down the Ladies Event last year.
Elizabeth, who is also an avid mountain biker and hiker, first took up poker after convincing her personal trainer to teach her the game. Soon after, she qualified online for the PCA and came 25th in the Main Event out of 1,600 players. While practising law fulltime and raising her young family, Elizabeth still managed a few poker trips a year and qualified for the PCA on a regular basis including 2015 when she was featured on the televised PCA shows.
She said: “The Irish Open is special in so many ways! It’s a very well-run series with low to mid stake buy ins that are affordable to recreational players and it has so much camaraderie amongst those in attendance. Not only is there great poker but there are lots of laughter and fun activities to engage in. Ever since I first attended the festival, I have always said that it’s the best place in the world to play poker. The ability to go to the pubs and listen to the music, and sing along with everyone, and have some wonderful meals just adds to the wonderful experience.”
2023 was truly a stand-out year for Elizabeth – as well as winning the Irish Open Ladies Event, her other achievements included runner-up in the PCA Ladies Event, a final table at the WSOP Ladies Circuit Event in New York, two WSOP cashes and a cash in the WSOP Paradise Mini Main. Elizabeth, who has now accrued more than $185,000 in live tournament cashes, is looking forward to defending her Ladies Event title at the 2024 event.
Fellow Canadians now have a wealth of options to qualify online for Irish Poker Open 2024. PokerStars are offering satellites in Ontario while iPoker sites Bet365, Champion Poker, Coolbet, Guts, Redstar, TitanBet and William Hill are all offering satellites in Canadian states excluding Ontario.
You can follow Elizabeth and her poker adventures on Twitter (X).