You make some very good points, Annie – and they’re very well taken. But there are a couple of points I’d like to make.

FIRST: I’m not accusing you of doing this, but a lot of people talk about women being “put” in this event, as if it were mandatory for all women poker players to participate. It may seem like an obvious point, but women are not forced into this event, nor are they confined to it.

If anyone’s rights are being trampled here, it is those of the male poker population. However, I believe it’s always in poor taste for a dominant race/gender to cry foul in these situations. The fact is, every tournament except for the Ladies Event is a “men’s event.” I would estimate that as many as 80% of tables at the WSOP are men only.

There are a lot of analogies being throw around in this debate. I think a fairly good one is traditionally black colleges in America. These sorts of instituations exist for the benefit of underserved, underrepresented segments of our population. And while people from outside their target demographic have a constitutional right to be there, the value of the institution should ultimately be determined by the black community, and no one else. It is not up to, and I don’t think it would be acceptable for, white people to decide the “value” or the “message it sends”.

Similarly, it is not up to the dominant 90%+ of the poker population to say what is best for the oft objectified, oft mocked minority of women. The poker community is overwhelmingly (though not uniformly) sexist. Even when they try to be progressive, they fail (see: “Year of the Woman”).

SECOND: The mistake people often make when judging groups formed around race, gender, etc., is believing they’re somehow based on a sense of superiority or inferiority. (See: “Gender Gap” argument.) This is usually not the case. It’s about unity. It’s about sharing a common bond. It’s about having a safe environment. It’s about briefly escaping bias. In the male-dominated poker world — and most guys probably don’t get this — there is overwhelming pressure for women to act like men and/or accept the ubiquitous sexism.

I will absolutely concede that some people — women included — believe that the existence of a Ladies Event sends the message that women are inferior poker players. Hell – I’ll even concede that that was probably on the minds of WSOP officials when the event was created. But that is NOT what it means to its thousand participants today. And since when do we care what ignorant sexists think, anyway? Anyone who really thinks the Ladies Event is evidence that women are inferior poker players obviously has bigger problems, and a fundamental misunderstanding of genetics.

THIRD: There is one very good reason to cancel the Ladies Event: the value of the bracelet (note: this is NOT to say the Ladies Event bracelet isn’t “real”). I completely undersatnd this argument. If the WSOP wants to be a true poker championship, they should drastically reduce the number of events. There should be a single championship for each discipline. And all events should be open to whoever wants to enter.

HOWEVER – as long as the WSOP continues to roll out 58-event schedules, with a Seniors Event, a Casino Employees Event, full-ring PLOs, and ten $1,000-$1,500 NLHEs, (and definitely the proposed “Newcomers Event”,) I have a really hard time believing the value of the bracelet hinges on the Ladies Event, and, therefore, see no reason to do away with it.

You correctly noted that there would be an uproar if an African-Americans-only event was announced. Considering their lack of representation in the poker community — just like women’s — I would absoultely support this event, assuming the black poker community saw value in it. That goes for LGBT, Latino, little people, or any other underrepresented segment, too.

IN CONCLUSION: I think a lot of people who are opposed to this tournament fall into a couple of categories:

a) Males (often white) who feel sorry for themselves because, goddamnit, their ancestors have lived in this country for damn near 300 years and haven’t had the opportunity to be descriminated against once! What an outrage!

b) People are are too caught up on the message the already-sexist segment of the poker community is receiving when they see events like this on the schedule.

Personally, as long as women see value in the ladies event; as long as the WSOP chooses quantity over quality (which, for the record, I don’t blame them for); and as long as the poker community is dominated by males, I will absolutely support the Ladies Event 100%.

Let’s never lose sight of the fact that being equal does not mean we’re all the same.