Poker has come along way from the days it was played in the back of smoke filled pool rooms where the only women you'd see were the cocktail waitress, wives, girlfriends, or even mistresses hanging out.
More and more women have shown an interest in poker, and for many women, the most special day of the year for them has always been playing in the ladies event at the WSOP.
My personal assistant is a perfect example of that. She works hard for me during the WSOP, but her one off day is the ladies event and she looks forward to playing in it every year. She's been able to satellite her way in every year, and I'm always proud of her when she wins her seat! It's pretty cool since she is new to poker.
Patty would never dare play in an open event for that kind of money. No chance. That holds true for many of the women, mostly beginners, who all use that event as a learning experience. Some women may start out playing in the ladies event, and then eventually play in the open events, but a large percentage of them would never have had an opportunity to experience the WSOP had it not been for this very special and historic event.
I mean, you have over 1000 women in that event who love it! Why in the world would we want to spoil their fun in the name of sexual equality? I mean really. Really????? Men have had it pretty good, so whining about sexual equality as a man is a pretty lame excuse to take part in a ladies event. It's beyond lame, it's just plain foolish. You aren't fighting for men's rights, or women's right for that matter, you are just being an ass.
I think there were at least 6 men who played in the event this year, and I'd be willing to bet a pretty penny that their primary motivation was NOT sexual equality, it was equity. It's a juicy, large field event with loads of beginners. I'm not saying that all of them were playing for that specific reason, but I'd bet a lot of money it wasn't a concerted effort to "right the wrong of women having fun at the WSOP in a segregated event."
Women still represent a minuscule percentage of open events. Outside of the ladies event, which has a 1000 player field, there is no way in hell that a total of 1000 women would play in the open events.
I'm not a woman, so I couldn't fully understand the level of intimidation a woman would face when she sits down at a poker table full of men. For some, it's no big deal, but for a large majority, I imagine they are a bit worried about "looking stupid" or being judged. It's human nature.
This event helps put many of the women at ease. They all can learn together and enjoy the experience of playing in the world's most prestigious series, the WSOP. Why do we want to take that away from them? Why do we want to destroy such a unique and special event that is so popular among most women?
Well, Shaun Deeb and Annie Duke think the event should be destroyed. Shaun Deeb and Annie Duke think that Patty should forget about looking forward to the ladies event, because they don't like it. Well screw you!!! Don't play in it if you don't like it, but don't ruin the fun for the 1000 women who do love the event so much.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, women and men shouldn't be separated in a game that isn't physical, but that's not the case in poker either. Every single bracelet event is an open event. The casino employee's event, ladies event, and seniors event, are all special events catering to a special demographic... and they are popular. None of those bracelets "count" in the totals or stats. If Jennifer Harman wins the ladies event, she'd still have two bracelets... And one ladies event bracelet. Her bracelet count would be 2, not 3.
The WSOP is considering repercussions for men who entered the ladies event. I hope a precedent is set so that we can protect this event and let the ladies have some fun man, seriously... Why be a party pooper? Are there not more important causes to fight than this one? Leave the ladies event be. It DOES bring more women into poker, and the absurd notion that if it didn't exist more women would play in open events is a bunch of bologna.
Why should 1000 women be deprived of having a good experience at the WSOP because Shaun Deeb and Annie Duke don't like it?
Sometimes law gets in the way of logic and that's the case with this event. Legally, you can't shut out the men, because it discriminates based on gender, but if you think about it in terms of history, let's look at who would be discriminated against: MEN. Men have had it pretty damn good. They could always work, vote, or pretty much do whatever they please, while women had to struggle and fight for their rights. Men aren't being deprived here, and the only area you could argue that men get the short end of the stick is in custody battles in divorce court. Let the freaking ladies have a special event for them!
If you are offended by a special event created for women to play poker without having to deal with testosterone at the table, then you need to loosen up a bit and stop being so anal. Go fight a real battle and let the ladies play!
