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Kate Plummer
May 05, 2023
Florida man wins women's poker tournament: 'Insanity'
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A male poker player has triggered a debate after he entered a women's match - and won the whole thing.
Dave Hughes, 70, entered the Texas Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker’s Ladies event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood and won the $5,555 (£4,419) kitty despite not being a woman at all.
This happened because Florida casinos are prohibited from banning men from entering women’s tournaments thanks to the state's anti-discrimination laws.
Despite these laws, of the 83 players who signed up to the tournament, Hughes was the only male to enter.
And when he won, people were pretty peeved.
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Professional player Ebony Kenney wrote:
\u201cPlaying the @WPT ladies event today, and Dave here is the only man. (Filmed w/permission!)\n\nWhile we appreciate the dead money, I really wish men would get what these events stand for.\n\nSo I put a $300 bounty on his head and Tamra & Noah Piderit matched it. \ud83e\udd73\ud83e\udd73\n\nLet\u2019s get him.\u201d— Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure (@Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure) 1682807660
Professional poker player Charlie Carrel added:
\u201c1) Hilarious that he won.\n\n2) It pokes fun at the idea that anybody can identify as a woman and be allowed to enter women's spaces. \n\nIt's a real issue that people are taking advantage of in many different areas, including sports, prisons, and changing areas. This has lead to\u2026\u201d— Charlie Carrel (@Charlie Carrel) 1682884502
Believe it or not, stuff like this has happened before.
According to the New York Post, former World Series of Poker champion Abraham Korotki entered the women's-only tournament and took home the pot of $20,982, beating all the women he was competing with.
We just wonder if the irritated women playing with Hughes managed to maintain their poker faces?
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