Her real name is Cycalona Gowen because she was born during a tropical storm. Clonie grew up in Kiowa, Oklahoma and played sports in high school. She ranked seventh in the high jump in track and field and was also a championship-level basketball player. She had looks as well as skill in sports and the pretty young blonde won the Miss Teen McAlester crown in Oklahoma at age fifteen.
Clonie is a divorced mother of two and lives in Dallas, Texas. Her older child, a daughter, lives with her first husband and she is raising her second child, a son, who is a product of her second marriage.
She learned poker while in her teens and became more skillful after her first divorce when she would drive to Shreveport, Louisiana to play in the casinos. Clonie began to win several hundred dollars each weekend which soon became a steady income and decided she could earn more money as a gambler then working at her travel agency business to play poker full time and finds this world much more to her liking.
She became known to the public after finishing tenth in the 2002 Costa Rica Classic. The following year, she beat five of the world’s best women players – including Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman – at WPTs Ladies Night which was an event that was made for television.
Some of Clonie’s poker-related activities:
• Appeared on Good Morning America
• Mentioned in the New York Times, Dallas Observer, Texas Monthly, Esquire Magazine
• Guest appearances on Ultimate Poker Challenge in Las Vegas and European World Poker Championship in Dublin, Ireland
• Writes a regular Question and Answer column for WSOP Bluff Magazine
• Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Poker Association
Clonie Gowan is a member of the team of poker experts on FullTilt.com, Howard Lederer’s website, which include the following notables:
• Chris Ferguson
• Jennifer Harman
• Erick Lindgren
• Mike Matusow
• Phil Ivey
• John Juanda
• Phil Gordon
• Erik Seidel
• Andy Bloch
She is now a partner in a poker school teaching the basics of tournament play to women and men. She states the aim of the school is to instruct her students “How to be successful in a competitive game where your own money is at stake.” Additionally, she is writing a book “Good Girls Do Make the Final table”, which is scheduled to be printed by Harcourt Brace and is due out some time in 2006.
Unlike most other well-known poker players who are open about their winnings, Clonie, “The New Face of Poker”, is vague about her finances.
She also is involved in charities where she is a frequent host and does a great deal of volunteer work. At the Whisper Walk in Dallas to help victims of ovarian cancer, Clonie – whose mother is a survivor of this disease – was a very much appreciated guest speaker.
Clonie Gowan is considered a midlevel poker professional and has high public visibility. However, her name did not appear in Card Player magazine’s rankings and she has thus far not finished at the final table of any important tournament.
Kenneth Bateman writes numerous articles on the subject of poker and its players. To read more player profiles, visit XL Poker.