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YOU GO GIRL!
Few sports allow the sexes to compete on an equal basis. For example, women cannot play alongside men in team sports like football, baseball, and basketball. Physical differences between the sexes are narrower in individual sports, such as golf and tennis. And most would agree that few if any distinctions exist between men and women when it comes to being a professional racecar driver or a jockey in horseracing. These points aside, poker is one of the very few games where the playing field is truly level for all players, regardless of gender.
Yet in recent years, despite poker’s exploding popularity – on every continent and among all age groups -- female participation in both tournaments and cash games continues to lag. Fact is, poker is still a predominantly male pastime. Cardroom clientele remains about 90 percent male. Major tournaments rarely attract more than a handful of female players. For instance, the percentage of female players at the World Series of Poker has remained stagnant at around four percent for six consecutive years [1].
First, let’s agree on some common ground. Women playing poker is a good thing. Ladies not only add to the game’s diversity, but (for most of us men) playing poker with women is usually more fun and interesting than attending the usual stag party. Women also tend to be many of poker’s best ambassadors. No one can disparage a game played by grandmothers, housewives, and movie actresses, alike.
So, how can poker attract more women? One obvious answer is offering poker tournaments which are exclusively intended for females. Because a women’s only event serves as a nice on-ramp for new entrants to the game of poker. We all know part of poker is intimidation, but if we want people to enjoy their experience playing the game, it’s crucial that their early experiences are positive.
Ladies-only tournaments have a long track record of success, not only at the WSOP, but wherever they held. Just about every ladies-only poker tournament over the past 20 years has either met or exceeded attendance projections [2]. Were these gender-exclusive tournaments not offered, it’s fair to conclude that thousands of ladies who presently enjoy our great game would not be part of the poker culture.
Not everyone agrees. Women have certainly come a long way towards achieving equality in society. Accordingly, the notion that women need special treatment in a game which requires mental prowess is viewed as patronizing by some, and is downright insulting to female champions who have largely shattered chauvinistic attitudes and squashed outdated perceptions between the sexes when it comes to game skills and personal achievements.
But the bottom line for casinos and cardrooms is – ladies-only poker tournaments are very much in demand by those who enjoy them. Some events attract women from multiple states who travel hundreds of miles to come and compete. Major events which do not include ladies tournaments on their schedule are not only ignoring a dedicated player base, they are costing themselves customers. And, as casinos are essentially in business to make money and satisfy public appetites, they are duty-bound to meet these player demands.
The Ladies Poker Championship has been part of the WSOP since 1977. Since the WSOP Circuit officially began play in 2005, more than 50 ladies events have been held at a dozen different locations. Perhaps then, it was inevitable that the time would come when a man would not only enter a ladies tournament, but he would actually win it. That awkward moment came on November 13, 2009 when a man from Northern California entered the annual Ladies Championship held at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe’s WSOP Circuit and ended up as the winner. The man’s unlikely victory not only attracted attention within the poker community, but was also reported in mainstream press. It remains the only major poker tournament intended exclusively for ladies to be won by a man.
The man’s baffling moment of triumph raised a number of interesting questions across a broad spectrum. There were legal ramifications to be sure, particularly if any future tournaments decided to ban men from participating. The debate about necessity for ladies tournaments resurfaced in some circles. And, many feared the man’s victory might open up the floodgates elsewhere with men rushing in to fill seats in ladies tournaments, an act which would essentially destroy these special events, certainly as they were intended.
The first line of defense against a possible recurrence is easy. Keep the men out. Don’t let men enter ladies events. But can a casino bar a player from entering a poker tournament based solely on sex? The answer is a rather ambiguous -- yes and no, depending on where you live and what laws are on the books. Any casino can theoretically do whatever it wishes, so long as those actions are legal and within the guidelines of state gaming regulations. However, in this case, Harrah’s Entertainment didn’t think a $200 buy-in tournament was worth challenging the law in Nevada. In other words, while Harrah’s very much believes in equal rights and treatment for all, it is not designed to engage in controversy nor deny access of any person to its events.
What we need is some common sense, and for men to respect the sanctity of the intent of these tournaments. The WSOP remains very much committed to protecting and preserving ladies-only tournaments and hopes that the poker community as a whole will support their continuance. This means, male players should voluntarily respect these ladies’ wishes and allow women to compete amongst themselves, which is for the greater good of the game.
Of course, ladies can and will continue to play amongst men in open tournaments. But some women feel more comfortable playing poker among their own sex, which remains as one of the few springboards for converting thousands of women into becoming dedicated poker players. One thing we all probably agree on: All poker players have an inherent duty to do what they can to help the game grow and bring in more players. One very significant way to do this is to let ladies have their own poker tournaments and moments of glory. There are plenty of other poker tournaments from which to choose. Let’s fight the good fight and stand up for women in poker. It’s the right thing to do not only for women but -- for all of us.
Footnotes:
[1] Every year since 2003, I have walked the entire tournament floor of the WSOP Main Event during each starting day and taken a head count of female players. The high-mark for women in the Main Event occurred in 2006, when nearly five percent of the field was comprised of females. In other years, the percentages ranged between 3 and 4 percent.
[2] The Ladies World Poker Championship which takes place at the WSOP every year has grown steadily. In fact, during the period when Harrah’s Entertainment has owned and operated the WSOP, participation in the Ladies World Poker Championship actually outpaced the $10,000 buy-in Main Event world championship. Participation in the ladies event skyrocketed from 201 players in 2004 up to 1,060 last year, representing a 527 percent increase. By contrast, Main Event attendance increased from 2,576 to 6,494 during the same time frame (up 252 percent). Furthermore, during the past six years, ladies events played at most WSOP Circuit events have also either met or exceeded the estimates of tournament organizers.
[3] It should be pointed out Gregory Sessler, the official "ladies champion" at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, had no agenda. He later justified his entry into the ladies event by saying that he had driven a long distance to play in the WSOP Circuit at Harvey’s and discovered the ladies event was the only tournament offered that day. He decided to enter, and ended up winning the tournament.
