Florida man sparks outrage after winning women’s poker tournament
He was able to participate thanks to the state's anti-discrimination laws
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Shania Twain’s 1997 hit song “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” had a different meaning at this poker tournament.
Seventy-year-old Dave Hughes likely wasn’t channelling Twain when he entered an all-women’s poker tournament in Florida and won $5,555 in prize money.
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As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hughes was the lone male in the 83-competitor, $250, no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament, which took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino late last month.
He was able to participate in the event because Florida casinos are banned from prohibiting men from entering women’s tournaments thanks to anti-discrimination laws.
Video of Hughes competing in the event was posted to social media on Saturday. In the footage, Hughes can be seen sitting at a card table while the female narrator said there was a bounty up to eliminate him from the tournament.
“Good luck, not really,” said the woman.
Hughes’ participation in the tournament sparked an online debate on whether a man should be allowed to compete in women’s events.
“I agree this is a problem. What rule change would you advocate to fix this?” one tweeted.
“Maybe Dave identifies as a female, have you thought of that?” another asked.
A commenter on the video had a neutral view of things, tweeting: “The only way to stop discriminating on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, etc … is to stop discriminating. No more gender segregation. No more gender preferences. Stop discrimination.”
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Professional poker hall of famer Linda Johnson told Poker News she doesn’t think men should compete in women’s only tournaments.
“That said, I think there is a total overreaction to the few man (sic) who do enter,” Johnson said. “They are usually looking for attention, so why give it to them? Maybe we should just ignore them and play our best. This is just my two cents and you are welcome to your own thoughts on this.”
On Twitter, British poker player Charlie Carrel said he found it humorous that Hughes won, but noted the real issue is people taking advantage in many areas, which includes “sports, prisons and changing areas.”
“I wouldn’t do it, even though I probably share the same criticisms,” said Carrel, per Fox News. “Female-only spaces in poker are really needed. Mixed poker can often be absolutely horrendous environments for women to be a part of.”
Carrel said the transgender issue is a lot easier to deal with in poker as the stakes are low. He noted, however, that 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,” Carrel said.
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