A new history was made on April 20, 2015 at Horseshoe Casino, Council Bluffs, Iowa when Michelle Chin became the first-ever female champion of a World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event. Chin outshined a luminous final table to collect her first gold ring and $88,126 in first-place prize money. This victory secured her a place in the National Championship that is set to take place in Cherokee, North Carolina from July 29 to July 31.
It was 12 years ago when Chin, a native of Taiwan, shifted to the United States. Although juggling between jobs, Chin calls herself a recreational player rather than a professional one, and also admits being a pure cash game player.
Few months earlier, Chin outbreak onto the tournament poker scene recording her first cash win with a victory in the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Ladies event. And now, she managed to cement her spot in the history of poker becoming the Circuit’s first female champion.
Chin has been taking part in this tournament for the last 10 years, and has stood out as Circuit’s first female champion in its 11-year history. She hit the final table as the confident chip leader and left no chance to consistently apply pressure to her opponents. She maintained her chip lead as the final four players returned for Day 3 and eliminated each of her three remaining competitors in 45 short minutes.
The first knockout of the day happened after ten minutes of start of the final table. Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Circuit Main Event champion Jesse Wilke was the first one to leave the table, followed by circuit regular and ring winner Michael Sanders. And, in the heads-up play, Mike Lang locked horns with Chin, and in the final hand, Chin’s pocket sevens rivered a set against Lang’s pair to seal the deal.
The Council Bluffs Main Event drew a grand total of 235 entries over two starting flights with a total prize pool of $352,500. Some of the notable names to make the money include Nathan Bjerno (24th), two-time defending champion Blair Hinkle (20th), all-time ring leader Alex Masek (17th), 2011 WSOP bracelet winner Eric Rodawig (14th), and two-time ring winner Chris Karambinis (11th).
The Final Table results are as follows:
| Rank | Player Name | Prize |
| 1 | Michelle Chin | $88,126 |
| 2 | Mike Lang | $54,468 |
| 3 | Michael Sanders | $39,642 |
| 4 | Jesse Wilke | $29,317 |
| 5 | Greg Jennings | $22,021 |
| 6 | Michael Jensen | $16,797 |
| 7 | Tom Moss | $13,007 |
| 8 | Gregory Beaufait | $10,223 |
| 9 | Richard Fitzgerald | $8,153 |