Reading carefully through the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule, you’ll notice one major change to the annual Ladies Event. This year, in order to deter males from entering, the buy-in has been upped ten-fold to $10,000, but women receive a $9,000 discount. Nevada has a very unique law governing gender discrimination that was passed in 2011 and states in part, “It is not unlawful and it is not a ground for civil action for any place of public accommodation to offer differential pricing, discounted pricing, or special offers based on sex to promote or market the place of public accommodation.”

“It falls in line with Nevada law that allows you to offer promotional pricing based on gender,” WSOP Vice President of Corporate Communications Seth Palansky told PocketFives. The law is Article 331 and you can read more about it here.

Palansky explained the reasoning for upping the price tag for the Ladies Event ten-fold: “We’re trying to respond to the needs of the lady poker player and meet the demands of what people want to see. Our agenda is to grow the game of poker and get more people into it. In order for that to happen, people need to feel comfortable, safe, and welcome. This event has challenged all of those notions.”

For Palansky, preserving the social nature of the Ladies Event is critical. “You want them to play in your event and say, ‘I’m not missing it next year’ instead of saying, ‘That wasn’t enjoyable,'” he summarized. “We’re going to run the event and we’ll do the analysis afterward. Of course, there will be some men who are attention-starved and will enter anyway.”

Last year, the Ladies Event drew 936 runners and shelled out a top prize of $170,000, which means a man entering this year’s event is looking at a maximum ROI of around 2,000%. They would likely need to make the final table in order to break even, as last year’s ninth place finisher walked away with $12,000. You’ll recall that Jonathan Epstein made the final table in 2011.

World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson (pictured) gave PocketFives her reaction to the news, saying, “I was happy to see it. I think the best thing would be if they didn’t allow men to play. The second best thing would be to charge a different price. That’s what I told WSOP officials last year.”

Every year, the Ladies Event is ripe with drama surrounding males entering it. Tampons, wigs, and other props have been spotted at the tables, which could make the atmosphere uncomfortable for those involved. “I think it’s wrong for men to play in the Ladies Event,” Johnson said without hesitation. “I would have no problem with the WSOP having a men’s event too. I have no problem with people only being able to play in an event if they meet certain criteria and think people should respect that.”

What’s the over-under on the number of males who enter this year’s Ladies Event? 1.5? 2.5? Johnson speculated, “I think there will be two male entrants this year. It’ll be guys who want to make a statement. They have to make the final table, probably, to get back the $10,000, though.”

Why would a male possibly want to enter the Ladies Event in the first place? Winning a bet? Trying to capture a coveted WSOP bracelet? Boredom? “They think it is +EV,” Johnson told us. “They can’t think that now. Now, there’s no reason. They think they have an edge. It’s a bracelet event and they think they have an edge in it.”

We’ll wrap up by talking about the annual Seniors Event, which also has a $1,000 buy-in. What would prevent a 21-year-old from entering, and why hasn’t this happened in the past? Why is all of the hoopla found in the Ladies Event and not in the Seniors Event? According to Palansky, Nevada law treats seniors differently than women: “Seniors are a protected class, so you can discriminate and keep people out. In the case of a women’s event, you legally have to allow men to play.”

What do you think? Weigh in here or post in this PocketFives thread.

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