By Brad "Otis" Willis...

In 2005, I was in the back of a London television studio, cramped into a sound booth, and watching the World Cup of Poker II play out on a closed stage. A few feet away, I saw the back of a blonde head from which was coming one of the smoothest voices I'd heard in ten years of broadcasting.

"I could listen to that voice read the phone book," I said.

"She's quite a player, too," someone responded.

Before the day was complete, I learned the voice belonged to one Victoria Coren, TV broadcaster, writer, and top poker player. People who had the pleasure of watching Late Night Poker in its heyday will remember Coren from the tables there. Since that time, the already-famous Coren has become one of, if not the most famous women in British poker. That has been helped in no small part by her crowning achievement: Coren was and remains the only woman to ever win a PokerStars.com European Poker Tour title. Coren won EPT London in Season 3 for £500,000.

Today, PokerStars announced Coren is joining the ranks of Team PokerStars Pro, an elite stable of some of the world's top poker professionals. You'll be able to find Coren on PokerStars playing under the likely name "Vicky Coren."

So, next time you're sitting at the tables and you hear a voice that makes you turn your head, check to see if it's coming from underneath a PokerStars hat. If it's Coren, be careful. Her voice may be just hypnotizing enough to distract you from the fact she's taking all your chips.