Ok this is from the WSoP site.
Friday’s
$1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship is an annual event that brings out the best women poker players from all over the world. While each lady would like nothing better than to strap on the coveted gold bracelet that’s awarded at the end of three days, a great portion of the players are out to simply enjoy themselves. The atmosphere in the Ladies event is always jovial, and often times you can mutual signs of respect in this tournament that you wouldn’t normally see elsewhere.
For instance, on multiple occasions all of the players on their respective table agreed to halt play for bathroom breaks. When floor supervisors were called over to handle disputes, the players were very accepting of the rulings and usually settled differences with a smile.
In an event meant to be a brief reprieve from the steady grind of the WSOP, this year’s Ladies Championship took a drastic turn of the controversial type.
A few minutes before the tournament officially began, women poured through the doors en masse to grab their respective seats. Amiable banter was rampant, but before the cards hit the air, a few arguments broke out. The reason? More than a half a dozen men had also registered for the tournament, some in mocking fashion.
Shaun Deeb, a player liked and respected by many in the poker world, had recently lost a prop bet and was forced into the tournament. To respond, he playfully dressed up as a woman, and told all of his friends and the media that he was playing for a charity benefiting a female cause.
Other men simply entered the tournament completely by choice, whether it was to win money, a bracelet, or make a stand against events that segregate gender. The response by women was varying; Some laughed it off, others simply ignored it. The vast majority, however, seemed to be completely appalled by the fact that men had entered a women only tournament.
For obvious reasons, there’s no rule that states an entire gender can be banned from play for any legal poker tournament. While the Rio Casino, the media, and players themselves can apply an abundance of social pressure, there are no other barriers to entry.
The ramifications and subsequent penalties for players entering the field, however, are unknown. WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky guaranteed penalties forthcoming to all men who entered the field. “We will have our repercussions against any man that entered the ladies tournament. There are consequences for actions, and they’ll pay the price.”
Palansky later added that players may have their tournament eligibility suspended in the future, and lifetime bans were not completely out of the question. When asked, Palansky said, “Players with no class can have their services refused at any time.”
During the tournament, each eliminated man was serenaded with a boisterous applause, with the women standing in unison. Some of the men, assumedly embarrassed, quickly headed to the exits. When Shaun Deeb was sent to the rail, the eruption from the Pavilion room was deafening.
As mentioned previously, players in the tournament had quite different takes on the whole ordeal. Although the vast majority rooted against the males for obvious reasons, some didn’t see that big of a deal with the whole situation. A few women at Table 25 commented about how much of a pleasure it was to play with Deeb earlier in the day, and that he was truly doing it out of good fun.
Those who took the developments in stride may have had a qualm with some actions of one male player, however. During the middle of a hand, a man decided that it would be humorous to use a tampon as a card protector, placing it over his two hole cards. When a floor supervisor was called over amidst outrage over this incredulous act, the man was assessed a two round penalty for what appears to be having no sense of moral fiber.
Others didn’t see it that way.
Maridu Mayrinck opined, “It was crappy to see women get knocked out by men. It just wasn’t right.”
Kathy Liebert questioned the motives of such players, saying “Why play it? What are you trying to do? It seems like they’re just doing it for themselves.”
Whatever the opinion, you can be sure that this story won’t die for quite some time. It appears that the
world series of poker was not amused with men entering the field, and if they have it their way, these players will be facing suspensions in the not-so-distant future.
