2010 World Series of Poker: Ladies Event Controversy Again (Day 15)

Today I intended to write about the flap over the live-reporting coverage of this year's WSOP. That was before a group of men entered WSOP Event 22, the $1,000 Ladies Event. Some probably are going to accuse me of being too emotionally close to this issue because of the people involved, but I have a lot to say about this stunt.

It seems every year the Ladies Event causes controversy. Some people are in favor of the event as a way to bring more women into the game. They believe a women-only event makes women who might otherwise be intimidated to "get their feet wet" playing poker feel more comfortable at the table. Others are against women-only events, largely because they find the existence of women-only events demeaning to women. They believe there's nothing stopping women from competing on an equal footing with the boys in open events and that women-only tournaments suggest that there's something inherently "male" about playing poker.

The issue has been debated interminably for years and years. Personally, I believe that ladies events are a solution in search of a problem. But I'm willing to concede that each side may have some valid points. In this post I'm not going to champion one side or the other.

What I am going to do is blast the guys who entered the Ladies Event and the people who supported them in doing so.

I understand that there is no way that Harrah's can prevent men from entering the Ladies Event. But just because it can't be prevented doesn't mean it should be encouraged. After all, what does a man competing in an event designated as a Ladies Event accomplish? Why, exactly, are these men doing it? I suspect there are a number of different dynamics at work, none of them mutually exclusive and all of them incredibly misguided.

1. Guys who think it's funny. Some of the guys dressed up in drag to play the Ladies Event. I'm guessing that they thought doing so would be hilarious. News flash, guys: it's been done.

Dressing up in drag for a ladies event might have been good for a few chuckles when the TiltBoys first did it six years ago at Bay101. Since then, however, it's been done so often that it's become unoriginal and derivative. There's nothing chuckle-worthy about it anymore. If these guys want to dress up in drag, the Fruit Loop isn't far from the Rio.

Dressing in drag to enter a women-only event also overlooks the fact that these guys are turning the Ladies Event into their own personal joke at the expense of the people who take the event seriously. I wonder how disgusted those same players would be if CareerBuilder.com entered a chimpanzee into the Main Event.

2. Guys who think they're making a statement. Some guys entered the event (not in drag) to protest the existence of ladies-only tournaments. Here's my question: what statement, exactly, does a man playing a women-only event make? Are these guys trying to force the women who believe in the value of a women-only event to play against men?

I just don't understand what the participation of these men in the event is supposed to prove. All it does is shit on the women who actually believe in the value of women-only events. It also makes those men look like incredibly selfish, juvenile assholes. I'm told that the whole room applauded upon the elimination of the first guy from the event. What does that say about the "statement" the men were trying to make?

If these men were really interested in change, if they were really interested in the removal of women-only events from poker festivals, if they were really interested in bringing more women into the game on an equal footing with men in open events, the guys who entered the ladies event would work to effect that change continually. They'd try to find avenues to the levels where the decisions to host women-only events are made. They'd do that continually, repeatedly, over time. They wouldn't do it by playing a women-only poker tournament one day out of the year and then ignoring the issue the rest of the year.

Where are those guys to protest the Seniors Event? Where are those guys to protest the Casino Employees event? The same principle is at work in those events but I don't see these guys entering those events to "protest" their inclusion on the WSOP schedule.

If the argument is that the existence of a women-only event is demeaning to women, the LAST way to make that point is to enter the tournament. Because here's the thing: a LOT of the women (not all, but a lot) who play women-only events believe in the concept. By entering the tournament as a man, all you are doing is demeaning those women and shitting on their beliefs and values because you think you're being clever or because you think your beliefs and values are more valid than theirs.

3. Guys who think the field is weaker than an average field. This category is not mutually exclusive with categories 1 and 2. Don't kid yourself. If the men who entered women-only events were ONLY interested in doing it for chuckles or were ONLY interested in doing it to make a statement, they wouldn't try to so hard to win the damn things. What these men are doing is attempting to take advantage of a field that is perceived as softer than average. These men can dress it up as a ha-ha, they can dress it up as a political statement, but like everything else in poker (and in life) it's as much as about the money as it is anything else.

Again, it's not the first time this has happened. In 2007 Jose Canseco and five others entered a ladies event at the Cal State Champs. In 2009, Abraham Korotki won the $300 Ladies Event at the Borgata, good for $20,000.

Some people are pissing in the wind when it comes to this issue. They can react with all the mock indignation and outrage that they want when Harrah's apologizes to the field for the inclusion of men, but Harrah's was right to apologize. The event was marketed as a Ladies Event, an event where women could play only against women. It was not marketed as an open event. Harrah's can't prevent men from entering the tournament but Harrah's can certainly encourage them not to, can certainly apologize to its target audience for the disruption of the event by a few misguided, juvenile individuals.

There are good ways to protest something and bad ways to protest something. The people who entered the Ladies Event, whether out of humor, misguided political statement, or to take advantage of the field, rightfully deserve the scorn of everyone in poker. That includes those who believe in the value of women-only events and those who believe that women-only events should be removed from the schedule -- but believe in effecting that change in ways that are respectful to all involved.