On Saturday evening, Day 1b of the World Poker Tour (WPT) $3,500 Seminole Exhausting Rock Poker Showdown was happening in the primary ballroom on the Seminole Exhausting Rock in South Florida. Throughout the corridor, Occasion #48: $250 Girls No-Restrict Maintain’em was additionally taking part in out.
That match attracted 83 entries and provided up a $17,430 prize pool. Sadly, one of many rivals was a person, Dave Hughes, who wound up successful it for $5,555. Per state legislation, administration is unable to bar a person from getting into a women’ occasion in Florida.
Ebony Kenney documented the entire ordeal on Twitter:
Taking part in the @WPT women occasion at this time, and Dave right here is the one man. (Filmed w/permission!)
— Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure (@Ebony_Kenney)
Others graciously contributed to the bounty together with Jeff Platt, Michael Berk, Jake Ferro, and Frank Stepuchin, and even Hughes himself.
“The spirit of this has been enjoyable since we’re right here now,” Kenney stated of the bounty.
In line with Kenney, Hughes started the heads-up match with a 6-1 chip lead and “requested for the $100 again he contributed for his bounty. He’s now down 3-1 in chips and has talked fully disrespectfully to the seller. Good man façade has crumbled.”
The victory didn’t sit nicely with many in attendance, and understandably there have been some harsh criticisms on social media.
Seminole Exhausting Rock Poker Showdown Girls Occasion Outcomes
| Place | Participant | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Hughes | $5,555 |
| 2 | Dayanna Ciabaton | $3,400 |
| 3 | Abby Merk | $2,115 |
| 4 | Pleasure Benn | $1,430 |
| 5 | Helene Corcoran | $1,090 |
| 6 | Karen Cleveland | $875 |
| 7 | Solange Lucas | $725 |
| 8 | Betty Davis | $610 |
| 9 | Lisa Levy | $560 |
| 10 | Melissa Kaiser | $560 |
| 11 | Aleeyah Jadavji | $510 |
Minnesota Male Poker Participant Competes in 2021 WSOP Girls Occasion
Wider Poker Group Reacts
As phrase unfold all through the poker group, many distinguished members weighed in on the subject of males getting into women’ occasions.
“I do not suppose males ought to play in ladies-only tournaments.”
“I like ladies-only poker tournaments. I’d don’t have any drawback with them having a males’s solely and I would not enter it as I’d not qualify for it,” stated Poker Corridor of Famer Linda Johnson. “I’d don’t have any drawback if that they had a match for 26-year outdated, bike driving, Mohawk-haircut seniors and I would not enter it as a result of I would not qualify.
She continued: “I do not suppose males ought to play in ladies-only tournaments. That stated, I feel there’s a complete overreaction to the few man who do enter. They’re often on the lookout for consideration, so why give it to them? Perhaps we must always simply ignore them and play our greatest. That is simply my two cents and you might be welcome to your individual ideas on this.”
Kevin Martin took to Twitter to ask for ideas:
70 yr outdated Dave entered a World Poker Tour Girls Occasion on the Seminole Exhausting Rock.
— KMart (@KevinRobMartin)
Charlie Carrel, who hasn’t shied away from sharing his opinion on many subjects as of late, responded with the next:
1) Hilarious that he received.
2) It pokes enjoyable at the concept anyone can determine as a lady and be allowed to enter girls’s areas.
It is an actual difficulty that individuals are profiting from in many alternative areas, together with sports activities, prisons, and altering areas. This has result in some horrific repercussions (feminine inmates being raped in jail, or girls getting destroyed in MMA fights by anyone who spent 95% of their life as a person).
It does suck that it comes on the expense of the ladies’s solely house. I would not do it, despite the fact that I in all probability share the identical criticisms. Feminine solely areas in poker are actually wanted. Blended poker can typically be completely horrendous environments for girls to be part of.
The trans difficulty is loads simpler to deal with in poker, because the stakes are comparatively low. The distinction between female and male gamers is negligible sufficient that the motivation for males to hitch girls’s areas is not actually there. It does communicate loudly to the madness that is taking part in out on a bigger scale.
Poker professional Matt Glantz additionally weighed in by citing gender id.
So a man received the Girls Occasion at Exhausting Rock and everybody pissed. I am certain the man is an asshole and for certain it is a… https://t.co/Xzn8IhrA3O
— Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz)
Andy Bloch responded by stating: “1) The man might be a pleasant man, who has what he actually believes is an effective cause to play, unaware that it could be a “dick transfer.” 2) For certain individuals would criticize him much more if it was apparent that he was pretending to determine as a lady.”
Whereas the talk continues on-line, Kenney did ship out one other tweet to deliver it again to the true spirit of the occasion:
“Had a blast connecting with all the girls who performed the WPT women occasion yesterday. I met so many Embodied Confidence members and had soooo many stunning convos & moments. That is what it’s all about.”
Not the First Time
A person getting into a lady’s match just isn’t unusual. In lots of states, it’s in opposition to the legislation to limit a person from getting into, comparable to in Nevada on the World Sequence of Poker (WSOP). Nevertheless, in 2013, the WSOP labored some magic to make the buy-in for the Girls Occasion $10,000 with girls receiving a 90% low cost, so simply $1,000 for them. That was authorized and meant any man who desires to enter must pony up all the $10,000.
Whereas a deterrent, it hasn’t stopped all males from getting into the match. Six years in the past, Tony Roberto jumped in after dropping a prop wager. Extra lately, Minnesota’s Tom Hammers entered in an try to boost cash for charity.
Even with noble intentions, males are nearly all the time criticized for getting into a women’ occasion, which is designed to supply girls their very own place to play the place they could really feel safer, have extra enjoyable, and many others.
Hughes’s victory additionally wasn’t the primary time a person has received a women’ match. Again in 2009, Abraham Korotki received the $300 Girls Occasion on the Borgata Poker Open besting a area of 269 entries. Korotki received that match for $20,982 and didn’t make any mates when he denied a chop with Nicole Rowe, who had lately been recognized with breast most cancers and hoped to make use of the prize cash towards medical care.
On the time, Borgata Director of Poker Advertising Ray Stefanelli issued the next assertion:
“Borgata presents specialty tournaments, comparable to the women occasion, because it has been our expertise that these occasions are favored by sure segments of our clients. Within the spirit of this occasion, it was our hope that solely girls would search to take part, which has been the case prior to now.” Stefanelli continued, “Nevertheless, given each authorized and regulatory necessities, we should permit anybody who’s over the age of 21 the chance to take part in all of our occasions. As such, when Mr. Korotki insisted upon gaining entry into the match in opposition to our needs, we had no choice however to permit him to take part.”
Regardless of most males steering clear of girls’ occasions, there are seemingly these with out disgrace as seen this previous weekend down in Florida.
On a optimistic notice, the WPT did host a social media content material in the course of the match and one fortunate winner acquired a passport to the WPT Girls Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December!
Congratulations to @lisa_aces!
— World Poker Tour (@WPT)
Govt Editor U.S.
Govt Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
