THIS. IS. HILARIOUS!!!! A bearded man has won a women's poker tournament after he identified as a woman and entered into the battle for chips. Talk about taking the insanity to another level! WHOOOOOO! He may not be crushing women's skulls in the MMA octagon, but at least he's taking their chips! He really didn't have to do this, he was just proving a point on how stupid it is that some guys can say they're women and join women's sports or games.
The video was posted on Twitter by Ebony Kenney who wrote this to go with it: "Playing the @WPT ladies event today, and Dave here is the only man. (Filmed w/permission!) While we appreciate the dead money, I really wish men would get what these events stand for. So I put a $300 bounty on his head and Tamra & Noah Piderit matched it."
PokerNews had the details of where this took place, reporting the following information in a news article:
On Saturday night, Day 1b of the World Poker Tour (WPT) $3,500 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was taking place in the main ballroom at the Seminole Hard Rock in South Florida. Across the hall, Event #48: $250 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em was also playing out.
That tournament attracted 83 entries and offered up a $17,430 prize pool. Unfortunately, one of the competitors was a man, Dave Hughes, who wound up winning it for $5,555. Per state law, management is unable to bar a man from entering a ladies' event in Florida.
PokerNews also quoted Charlie Carrel who said this about the hilarious incident:
1) Hilarious that he won.
2) It pokes fun at the idea that anybody can identify as a woman and be allowed to enter women's spaces.
It's a real issue that people are taking advantage of in many different areas, including sports, prisons, and changing areas. This has lead to some horrific repercussions (female inmates being raped in prison, or women getting destroyed in MMA fights by somebody who spent 95% of their life as a man).
It does suck that it comes at the expense of the women's only space. I wouldn't do it, even though I probably share the same criticisms. Female only spaces in poker are really needed. Mixed poker can often be absolutely horrendous environments for women to be a part of.
The trans issue is a lot easier to handle in poker, as the stakes are relatively low. The difference between male and female players is negligible enough that the incentive for men to join women's spaces isn't really there. It does speak loudly to the insanity that's playing out on a larger scale.
