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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

May 05, 2007

Brawn and Beauty Still Don't Mix Well over the Green Felt

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes." -- Clare Booth Luce

It appears as if the ladies-only poker concept is not going away, at lease not in the near future -- and certainly not if the World Series of Poker promoters have anything to say about it. To perpetuate the notion that women need a separate and unequal playing field and to draw more women to poker, Harrah's World Series of Poker Academy is bringing Annie Duke, Joe Navarro and Alex Outhred to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on June 9 and 10, 2007 for an intense workshop. (That's the night before the WSOP World Championship Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Event) The target (and only) audience is women.

At first the price of the workshop seemed kind of high ($1699) but for that amount, ladies will get poker skills, and strategies, live-hand demonstrations, a question and answer session, a special introduction to female-specific non-verbal behavior (tells) from the FBI dude (Navarro), breakfast and lunch and dinner on the first day), plus tournament action.

And, the top ten finishers in the tournament action will receive seats in the ladies event at the series. Now I heard about this from my subscription to WSOP email updates but found one confusing tidbit. The newsletter mentioned the ten seats to the ladies event but when I checked out the details on the web, the academy itinerary description said the prize would be a seat in the final event. A quick email message clarified the prize - entries to the women's event.

Personally, I think the time and need for-ladies-only events have passed. With all kinds of books, software, free (and pay) online poker available, I'm sure women can get the skills and expertise they need to become proficient at poker. What they need now is to use their budgeting skills to set aside enough money so they can compete in the higher buy-in events regularly. Women have to possess the same kind of courage for competition their male counterparts have if they really want to gain notoriety (and cash) from major events. But if the proportionate number of women to men doesn't rise, we can't expect them to show up in the winners circle too often.

On the subject of women and the World Series, here's an update on the Expo (July 5-8) that might prove interesting to visitors. It fits right into that separation of brawn and beauty issue. Instead of featuring only poker-related booths this year, the Expo will spread out into a man-show theme. This time around, the event will go by the name The Gaming Life Expo-Girls, Games, and Gear and the hype claims that the name change reflects that of men's lifestyle.

I find it interesting that the promoters of the tournament will try like crazy to attract women to the game but the expo will focus on men. Personally I think both concepts stink but I'm probably in the minority with that opinion.

I believe the reason for the expansion of the expo is two fold. First, the number of exhibitors who hoped to recoup the price of a booth and ended up disappointed might have been high last year (I heard several people complain about lack of purchasing) and many are either teaming up to share a booth or staying away entirely this time around. I think, too, that the elimination of any dot com companies from floor space must have severely impacted the event. I recall that sites like Fulltilt.com, Bodog.com and Doylesroom.com purchased two or more spots. Without the brand names touting their wares, the expo probably needs some kind of vertical expansion.

Still, it's the World Series of Poker and the World Series of Poker Lifestyle Expo and I intend to mosey through the Rio on and off throughout the series. In the larger scheme of life, it's still poker.