There’s obviously a whole lot of stink going on surrounding the WSOP Ladies Event.  But before I get into the bad smell part, let’s talk about the great part of it.  Linda Johnson started the whole thing off by telling the audience and entrants about her own beginning in poker and how this was an anniversary for her, I believe around 30 years, since she made the decision to become a full time poker player and she hoped that this tournament would be a turning point in some of the lives of the ladies gathered there to do battle for the gold.  She also spoke of the old days and how they played in a small room in the basement of the Horseshoe for two weeks, and other things that give one a vivid picture of her move through poker over the years – all of this with an emotionally filled voice, almost bordering on tears, and I believe every female in the room shared her emotion. 

I searched the internet for a YouTube video or anything that had a recording of Linda’s opening talk before she said the “Shuffle up and Deal” but can’t find anything yet.  If you do find something, please leave a link in the comment section. She’s such a great representative for poker in general, not just in promoting or representing women in poker, but in making the game a better place for everyone.

My view on women in poker and Ladies only events are neither pro nor con.  I have no huge push to segregate the poker field into categories but I also am not adverse to it.  The Seniors Event and the Ladies Event, are categories that are not open to all players, it’s just the way it is, live with it kids.  *Edit:  I forgot the Casino Employees Event* When you look at the realistic side of life and what it costs just to make a daily living, the $50K Poker Players Championship is in a category that very few of us will ever find ourselves standing at the cashier cage signing up for the event.  It is what it is.  If I had an extra 50K, I have too many other things going on in life to invest it in a grueling battle of wits, cards, poker skill, and physical exhaustion, to try to win the event or even finish in the money so I’m not bust.

Do I think men should be allowed to play ladies events?  No, I do not!  All of the talk of equality and double standards is just bullshit in this case.  I have to wonder at the thought process of a guy that is going to run down and buy a seat and then set in a rose bed filled with thorns; what exactly is going through their minds?  No one wants them at their table – as evidenced by the huge round of applause that went up each time one of them busted from the tournament.

Jack Effel made an announcement before the tournament began, explaining there were men in the tournament and though they had been cautioned and it was strongly recommended that they not sign up, they did anyway, so he apologized in advance.

There’s a ludicrous side to this, what are you trying to prove guys?  Even though I’m not for men playing the tournament, one side of me laughs my ass off at the lone guy sitting at a table with women that don’t want him there, and how if I were a guy, I would be embarrassed to be in that spot, and if I won…flashing my gold bracelet with pink diamonds later at the corner bar watching the football game and a big trucker dude asked me where I got the bling.   “I won the Ladies Event at the WSOP!  Yeah baby, I’m proud.”

There are other issues in my thought.  Life is filled with people with diverse tastes and views and from that I can assume there is more than one homosexual in the Ladies Event that fills the role of a man in the relationship; I’m  also aware of the person who is changing sex.  The latter was one of the ladies at my table, Rosa Lee Klaneski.  Truthfully, when I joined my table, I thought Rosa was a guy dressed as a woman to make a mockery of the event.  Rosa was very friendly, eye liner/make-up/cleavage and if she was doing this as a gag, she put the full effort into it.  Since I’m such an upstart, mouthy be-yatch, I almost asked if that was the case but managed to keep my lips sealed on that subject.  If you visit this link, you will see Rosa – yes, scroll the pictures and she is the one with the cleavage.  Scroll a bit further and you will see MOI in the newsboy cap seated next to the beauty queen Shannon Elizabeth.

On the subject of Rosa, I couldn’t help but do further research on her since all of her actions and conversation were truly feminine themed.  She has a book at Amazon.com and just looking at that book cover brought an answer – I believe Rosa is a woman trapped in a man’s body.  And yes, I do believe that happens to people, hence homosexuality, etc.  I am happy that I played poker with her, it was a good experience for this granny.

My table was a lot of fun, filled with fun/funny conversation, Maria Stern was in the 5s and she’s always very gracious and from the old regimen of poker, she has a lot of patience and understanding of playing/players and the whole scene.

Back to men playing in ladies events, one of them did something really horrifically stupid IMHO, it was posted on the WSOP event update:

Two Rounds for a Tampon

One of the dozen or so male players left in the event was recently penalized for taking out a tampon to use as a card protector. The floor ruled that he was to sit out for two rounds of play. We’re not sure which rule he was violating, besides that of a lack of class, but he’s back in action now – this time with the tampon in his pocket.

Bluntly put, what a fucking retard.  That is just too far over the line in my opinion.  Kick the jerk out of the tournament and deprive him of his opportunity to try to go for the win.

Seth Palansky made a harsh statement that, again in my opinion, is too far over the line – this is taken from PokerNews.com

“They’re all scumbags. And we will pay special attention to who they are and that the kind of attention they’re trying to get, they’ll get,” said Seth Palansky, WSOP director of communications. “The likelihood of them playing in a WSOP event in the future is in doubt and they should be aware of it as a result of their participation today.“

BTW, if you click that link, you will see half of MOI in the picture, simply because they were shooting Shannon Elizabeth.  I’m OK with her being a star…and me being the grunt that isn’t newsworthy, if I could just figure out how to bust Aces with sixes, I might be a star too.

Ladies events, in my opinion, were created so many million years ago to give the ladies an opportunity to play for cash and prizes but mainly to bring the hubby in early and make sure he would be there for the tournament.  Hey, it’s my opinion – you don’t have to agree.  The ladies event was usually the first event on the big tournament schedules way back when.  If the woman is involved, she won’t mind hubby going, she might even push it if it gives her a reason to be there.  As Linda Johnson said in her speech, all of the first ladies events were 7 Card Stud events, and the fields were small…obviously that has changed over the years.

Along with those changes came women stepping up to the table and competing against men in cash games and tournaments.  Many women have never played live because they are timid or they don’t want the confrontation they receive from men about women playing a man’s game.  Ladies events are needed to bring women out to the game, give them a secure place to get their poker legs under them, and make them feel at home.  The Lips Tour, the High Heels Poker Tour, and the Ladies Event at the WSOP are all designed to give women an opportunity to play in a comfortable setting.

There’s another thought that I have to include in this, what if a guy does win the WSOP Ladies Event?  It ruins the whole picture of a woman winning a gold bracelet – if we are the weaker sex, why do you want to deprive of us of this opportunity?  Is it the big, tough guy image you have of yourself?

One thing that I have to mention, the men’s room at the entrance to the Pavilion Room was blocked off to men on breaks, it became the ladies room at that time.  I did go in.  The urinals had pinkish/red plastic bags tied over all of the urinals…cute!  And another thing mentionable is that reading up on the play of the ladies event, when one woman had to use the bathroom, everyone at the table just agreed to take a break with her and the cards stopped at that table…now that is sisterhood at its best!

Look you male retards, we need more people coming into the game, so stop trying to interfere with what is a good thing for poker, if you can’t find an orifice big enough for a tampon, you don’t belong.  And if you do find one, you need to wear the tampon, firmly placed, all the while you are in the tournament.