“They don’t need the World Series of Poker Ladies Event because the ladies can’t compete. They need it because of the atmosphere.” Those were the words from Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson (pictured) to PocketFives on Friday when asked why the WSOP Ladies Event is a cornerstone of the annual tournament series. The event kicked off on Friday with a field of 936 players.

Last year, 1,055 runners turned out, meaning the field size shrunk by 11% in 2012. The winner will still walk away with $170,000 this year along with a gold bracelet.

“The Ladies Event is still needed because women enjoy playing poker with each other in an atmosphere that is slightly more social, but also not as intimidating,” Johnson argued. “The conversation is much more enjoyable for women in a ladies tournament than in an open tournament. In open events, I’m not interested in hearing about sports, what happened at Sapphire the night before, or the cocktail waitresses, which are often topics that come up.”

Johnson argued that women playing in the Ladies Event could end up as regulars in open tournaments, another reason it’s beneficial to the poker community: “A lot of women start playing in ladies events and transition to open events. If it weren’t for the WSOP Ladies Event, for example, I probably would not have moved out to Las Vegas nearly as quickly as I did. I based my decision to move on how I did in the 1982 Ladies Event. A lot of other women got their start in the Ladies Event.”

Thirty years ago, Johnson finished fourth in the WSOP’s Ladies Limit Seven Card Stud tournament and banked nearly $2,000, hooking her on the game. She had a career that included a long stint with the World Poker Tour and a Razz bracelet win in 1997. She was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame last year along with Barry barryg1 Greenstein.

Many in the poker community have debated whether a skill differential exists between male and female poker players. However, according to Johnson, a talent gap isn’t the reason for the tournament: “I don’t think women need their own tournament because of a different skill level. I don’t care what group they have a tournament for, quite frankly. As long as they get 1,000 people who want to show up and play it, that’s fine with me.”

This year once again saw a group of men enter the event. “A lot of them want attention,” Johnson said of the male participants. “A few of them are legitimately playing because they think they have an edge, however.” Last year, Tustin, California’s Jonathan Epstein made the final table of the Ladies Event and finished in ninth place, his lone WSOP cash.

The presence of testosterone in this year’s tournament sparked comments from several women playing in Friday’s Ladies Event, including PocketFives member Jennifer Jennicide Leigh (pictured), who Tweeted, “If you’re a dude and you’re playing, welcome to finally feeling like a minority in tournaments.” She warned, “The ladies that are clapping after each man is eliminated are just as bad as the men entering. #keepitclassyladies.”

Michele Lewis, who cashed in the Ladies Event in 2007, shared her two cents on the opposite sex: “No man has played the WSOP Ladies Event. Some boys in need of attention, yes, but no men. Eventually, boys grow up + learn boundaries. Life.”

Also commenting on the male clientele in this year’s event was Christina lindeyloo22 Lindley, who chirped, “Literally no idea why any man would want to play this event ever. Topics I’ve heard so far: what does it mean when I have my period?” Graphic.

Vocally taking to Twitter to bag on the males who coughed up the $1,000 buy-in was PokerStarspro Daniel Negreanu: “Wow, in every pic I’ve seen of a dude playing the Ladies Event, they actually look like greasy, creepy douchebags! Alert Chris Hansen for real.”

Finally, after posting a picture of a guy playing, PocketFiver Maria Maridu Mayrinck observed that maybe skill isn’t part of the equation after all: “All the guys in the Ladies Event busting. I’m confused, aren’t they playing for the +EV? Why are they busting? Aren’t they superior? #losers.”