FOR Lisa Hawkes, life will soon be turning into one huge gamble.

Having sold Jesmond House Hotel in Highworth last December and announced that she will be standing down from Swindon Council this May, she is now hoping to become a full-time professional poker player.

And this week, she will be appearing on Challenge TV as she takes part in the 888.com Women's Poker UK Open against such celebrities as Vanessa Feltz.

Coun Hawkes (Con, Highworth) has played poker for the past 15 years and was invited to take part by a colleague from the UK's poker circuit.

She said: "I love poker. I just love the adrenaline rush and the social life that surrounds it.

"I play mainly in casinos in Birmingham or London and go up as often as I can.

"I learned from an old boss who was absolutely addicted and he showed me all the tricks.

"The UK Open was actually filmed two weeks ago at Leyton Orient Football Club in south east London.

"I came second in my heat so I reached the runner-up heat, but I came second again in that so I didn't reach the final."

The show is screened every night this week at 10pm on Challenge TV with the players battling it out for a hefty $100,000 prize pot.

Famous faces playing included TV presenter Vanessa Feltz, Tina Hobley (Holby City) and Angela Griffin (Cutting It, Coronation Street), as well as comedian Sue Perkins who Coun Hawkes played against.

"I'm now going to give it until August to see if I can actually make a living from playing poker professionally," she added.

"If I'm not successful by then, when I take part in the Poker World Series in Las Vegas I will have to reconsider."

Coun Hawkes, who became a councillor in 2000, comes from Colorado and first of all tried to make her name in Hollywood as an actress.

In between waitressing she managed to snag parts in Father Dowling and Perry Mason. She was an extra in a crowd of 500 people in Die Hard 2, which starred Bruce Willis.

Her life changed when she met her late husband Maurice from Swindon, and they moved to Highworth where they bought the Jesmond House Hotel. He died two years ago of a heart attack. She has now sold the hotel to a local businessman.

"If the poker doesn't work out, I've always got the option of going back to acting," she said.

"Now I'm 40 I'm a lot more castable than I used to be, so it is definitely something I could pursue again."