Suspensions, Bans May Come to Men in Ladies Event at the 2010 World Series of PokerWSOP Says There Will Be Consequences for Men Entering Today's Tourney |
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Men who entered the 2010 ladies event at the World Series of Poker could face a possible suspension or ban from future WSOP events, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky told Card Player today.
More than a half-dozen men are confirmed to be playing in the annual ladies tournament, and some estimates on the floor are that the number of men who entered the event is in the double digits.
In a tongue-in-cheek comment, Palansky called the development “great news,” before saying there will be consequences for any male who entered the event.
“We will have our repercussions against any man that entered the ladies tournament,” said Palansky. “There are consequences for actions, and they’ll pay the price.”
Palansky said tournament organizers couldn’t legally prevent any men from entering the event. They have discouraged men from doing so in the past, and discouraged entries again this year. Men have participated in ladies events at the World Series in past years, but never to this magnitude.
“We can’t prevent anyone from entering a ladies tournament. If they’re scumbags, they’re scumbags,” said Palansky. “The good news is at the World Series of Poker, we have the right to refuse service to anyone at any time at any point that we deem, as operators of the event.”
When asked if there could be anywhere from a year ban to a lifetime ban for the male entrants, Palansky simply responded: “Stay tuned.”
An official entrant list, with the number of men who entered the event, is not yet available.
David Sesso, primarily an online player who also won a WSOP Circuit event in Indiana last year, is one of the men playing in today’s event. He entered with a group of his friends, but claimed to be the one who came up with the idea.
When asked why he entered a ladies event, Sesso said, “When a girl wins a regular event, she gets all this attention. When a guy wins an event, it’s still pretty cool, but you don’t get nearly this much attention.”
Sesso says he was discouraged a few times from registering for the event, but didn’t say if any specific punishments were discussed.
“The lady at the cage kept letting me know that it was a ladies event, but I just stuck with it and got in,” said Sesso. “I was pretty much the first one (out of my group) to start talking about (entering the event). Some of them went really far with it and dressed up like girls.”
When the first male entry busted from the field, the Pavilion reportedly erupted in cheers.
Kathy Liebert, widely considered one of the best female poker players with nearly $5.7 million in tournament winnings, said she understands the reasoning behind the guys’ decision, but still thinks they should’ve sat this one out.
“It’s a ladies-only event, so the guys should probably just stay away,” said Liebert, who said the men’s decision to enter the event reflects a little bit on their character. “Why play it? What are you trying to do? It seems like they’re just doing it for themselves.”
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