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On Monday, World Series of Poker Event#22 $ 1000 Ladies No-Limit Hold ‘em commenced with 644 players. Tom Hammers, a male poker player, enrolled in the tournament via late registration.
The WSOP Ladies Tournament was initially exclusively a women’s poker event. That is not the case anymore, as Nevada Gaming law dictates that no one should be excluded based on gender; however, men are allowed to play as long as they pay the total entry fee, ten times the buy-in. In this event, Hammers had to pay a total of $10,000 buy-in while the women, including his wife and daughter, had to only part with $1000. WSOP usually sets huge buy-in tournaments and then proceeds to give women a 90% discount. This move encourages more women to play poker; women make up a tiny percentage of the competitive poker world which is male-dominated.
Hammers, who has $300,000 in live earnings according to the Hendon mob, pledged that should he cash, all the proceeds will go to women’s charitable causes. His tournament life was, however, cut short when his pocket sevens ran to pocket aces. Immediately after he was eliminated cheers, whistles from women filled the arena, a regular spectacle anytime a man is eliminated in a ladies’ tournament. Hammers could not contribute anything or donate funds to charity because he was eliminated and did not make money.
Hammers was convinced that his presence in a ladies’ event would help shed some light on the plight of women across the globe, creating awareness on challenges women encounter regularly.
Most of the female players who participate in these events usually do so because they know it’s an exclusively women’s occasion, and they are going to compete against each other. Though not illegal, WSOP should not condone the intrusion of men in these events in any kind of way. Men have a habit of gate-crashing women’s events. Shaun Deeb, Jonathan Epstein, and several others have featured in only Ladies Events throughout the years. Frankly, men who exercise their rights and participate in these events are incredibly immature.
Although some may argue that Hammers’s entry to the 2021 WSOP ladies event increased the prize pool by $10,000 and may have good intentions of donating all winnings to women’s charitable activities, He should have donated his $10,000 buy-in directly. He was well aware that his move would be controversial and generate headlines. Nonetheless, he still went ahead and registered for the event.
