Ivonne Montealegre’s journey within the poker world started in Costa Rica and has since taken her throughout continents, establishing her as some of the revered figures within the business. Now primarily based in Malta, she is thought not just for launching a profitable thoughts sport circuit but additionally for her management as Director of Worldwide Affairs for the Girls’s Poker Affiliation. Inclusion has lengthy been central to her mission, and he or she has labored tirelessly to raise the position of ladies within the recreation.
When she was entrusted with launching the SiGMA Poker Tour (SPT), Ivonne threw herself into the problem with complete dedication. Regardless of her huge expertise, this was no unusual challenge. It required months of fast-paced planning and on-the-ground work in São Paulo. She left her household behind and immersed herself in making the occasion successful.
“Watching this occasion come to life is extremely emotional,” she shared. “It is like elevating a baby. You nurture it with love, watch it develop, and hope the world embraces it.”
Now, on the Monte Carlo Poker Membership, she’s seeing the outcomes of that tough work. The primary-ever SPT occasion is unfolding in an area custom-built for the event and buzzing with life.
Constructing Extra Than a Match
For Ivonne, the SiGMA Poker Tour is about greater than playing cards and chips. It’s about creating significant impression. Via its shut partnership with the SiGMA Basis, the tour is already making a distinction in native communities.
“Final week, we constructed a faculty in a favela,” she stated. “We additionally created a martial arts middle to assist at-risk youth, giving them a optimistic path and actual alternatives. That is what fills me with probably the most pleasure.”
She additionally emphasised the significance of the financial enhance the tour brings. The SiGMA convention, which runs alongside the poker occasions, serves as a hub for networking and innovation. “It is a dream come true when poker connects with enterprise,” she stated. “We provide a lot greater than only a event. It is a full expertise.”
The Brazilian poker group, Ivonne famous, has embraced the occasion with open arms. “Brazil is unbelievable. The persons are passionate, the power is superb. I need this to be a yearly custom in São Paulo, rising greater and higher every time.”
A Imaginative and prescient for the Future
Among the many most significant moments through the debut occasion was the SiGMA Divas event, devoted to championing girls in poker. “Seeing 105 girls present as much as play? That is lovely,” Ivonne stated. “We wish to hold creating these alternatives, serving to girls transition from smaller occasions to main phases the place they will win life-changing cash.”
The success of gamers like Darya Krashennikova, who led the Essential Occasion chip counts, underscores what’s potential when girls are given the platform to shine. “Being that bridge, that catalyst for somebody’s breakthrough, that is what makes me happiest,” she added.
Trying forward, the tour strikes to Malta in September, the place Ivonne is already planning one thing much more bold. “We have now a improbable partnership with Portomaso On line casino, and every little thing runs easily there. However regardless of the place we go, our core values keep the identical: group, enjoyable, and inclusion.”
“As the previous president of the Worldwide Girls in Poker Affiliation, these values aren’t simply a part of the occasion,” she stated. “They’re a part of my life. They’re a part of my legacy.”
Gabriel Grilo
Will Shillibier
Managing Editor
