A male won a woman’s World Poker Tour (WPT) event in Florida on Saturday night.
The Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event at the Seminole Hard Rock in South Florida garnered 83 entries with a prize pool of $17,430.
Among the participants was Dave Hughes, who won the competition and took in $5,555 in prize money.
According to Florida state law, Seminole Hard Rock is prohibited from preventing a male to join the women’s only competition, per Poker News.
“I really wish men would get what these events stand for,” wrote Ebony Kenney, who participated in the women’s poker event and shared a video of Hughes during the competition.
“I don’t know if you can tell … he’s the only guy in this ladies’ event,” says Kenney in the video, noting she and another participant along with her husband put a total of $600 in bounty on Hughes.
Playing the @WPT ladies event today, and Dave here is the only man. (Filmed w/permission!)
While we appreciate the dead money, I really wish men would get what these events stand for.
So I put a $300 bounty on his head and Tamra & Noah Piderit matched it. 🥳🥳
Let’s get him. pic.twitter.com/dXVZVlriAP
— Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure (@Ebony_Kenney) April 29, 2023
A poker bounty is a financial incentive and reward to knock a player out of the game.
Hughes reportedly donated $100 of his own money towards his bounty, according to Kenney who said the bounty reached $2,140 in total donations.
The women’s event required a 10x buy in for men to play in the competition, which Hughes reportedly said was “discouraging” in a text to a friend, according to Kenney.
One Twitter user suggested Hughes participated because he may identify as a female.
Kenney dismissed the user’s suggestion, claiming Hughes was overheard saying he “could pretend to identify as a woman because they allow anything nowadays.”
Maybe Dave was overheard saying he “could pretend to identify as a woman bc they allow anything nowadays.”
And by maybe, I mean, 100%.
— Ebony Kenney | Poker & Purposeful Pleasure (@Ebony_Kenney) April 29, 2023
Hughes, who began with a 6-1 chip advantage, reportedly talked “completely disrespectfully” to the dealer after his advantage lowered to a 3-1 chip lead, according to Kenney.
“The nice guy facade has crumbled,” Kenney said.
Professional poker player Charlie Carrel said Hughes’ win in the women’s contest was “hilarious.”
“It pokes fun at the idea that anybody can identify as a woman and be allowed to enter women’s spaces,” Carrel said. “It’s a real issue that people are taking advantage of in many different areas, including sports, prisons, and changing areas. This has lead [sic] to some horrific repercussions (female inmates being raped in prison, or women getting destroyed in MMA fights by somebody who spent 95% of their life as a man).”
“It does suck that it comes at the expense of the women’s only space,” Carrel added. “I wouldn’t do it, even though I probably share the same criticisms.”
“The difference between male and female players is negligible enough that the incentive for men to join women’s spaces isn’t really there,” Carrel said of transgender-identifying people in women’s sports. “It does speak loudly to the insanity that’s playing out on a larger scale.”
Although Timcast News reached out to Hughes for comment, the poker player did not immediately respond.
