by Kate
22. June 2010 08:47
There is a raging debate going on in the poker world over an incident that took place last month in which poker pro Shaun Deeb sat down at the table for the Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship dressed in drag. While this was done for a laugh, many people did not appreciate. The incident highlighted the growing issue over whether men and women should play their poker tournaments separately.
Deeb was in reality one of eight men who joined 1,054 players for the women’s Championship. Harrah’s Entertainment, who own and run the WSOP, couldn’t prevent the men from participating in the event that is advertised as a women’s event and aimed at women but is not legally entitled to exclude men.
This also happened last autumn at the Borgota Poker Open in Atlantic City when a man entered and then when on to win a women’s tournament.
But Deeb seems to have sparked off the largest amount of criticism so far. He has since gone on to explain in a YouTube video that he intended to donate his winnings to charity and that he was sorry about the costume. He did stand his ground on the gender issue saying that he thought segregation in poker tournaments was wrong because the game is one that requires mental and not physical strength.
Annie Duke agrees with Deeb and is an advocate of discontinuing the WSOP women’s championship.
Daniel Negreanu disagrees, stating: "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(s) for that matter."
Linda Johnson, a pioneering female poker player, has said that her first WSOP women’s championship changed her life when she played 30 years ago and feels women-only tournaments serve an important purpose: "Frankly, many women are too intimidated to play in an open event," and "It's not conceding that women don't have the ability to compete with men or about skill levels...It is about overcoming the intimidation factor, and that includes the socializing element of an all-women's event."