WiPHoF weekend – Part One (The ceremony)

The Ceremony
Even though I am not one for ceremonies and luncheons and all that, I've decided to attend the First Annual Women In Poker Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon on February 2, 2008 – I wanted to be part of history in the making.

Even though poker is an equal playing field for men and women, there are a lot of women who do not want to be part of Women Only Events for numerous reasons. And for the most part, I do agree with their sentiments, and having WOE’s might establish the idea that we’re not good enough to play with the men, and that we need special treatment.

But I think that the history of poker and more importantly, the history of WOMEN in poker, entitle us to be treated special, at least for now. It’s not as simple as many may think, in the poker world, until recently, women were treated as second class citizens, not only the players but all women in the industry. They were abused, not only mentally, but sometimes also physically. Women players were denied access to games, grumpy old men refused to play in games with female dealers and many many similar stories came to light during the presentations at the luncheon. Looking at the poker world today, as many have said – “We’ve come a long way, baby”. We have every reason in the world to celebrate that, and more importantly to honor and celebrate the women who paved the way for us to be where we are now. We also have an obligation to continue supporting the growth of women in poker, and one very important way to do that, is the continuation of Women Only Events.

I had the greatest feeling at the poker table the other day. Of the 10 seats, 5 were occupied by women, and – as you should expect from us – a lot of yakking was going on. The two guys to my left were visibly annoyed and the one whispered to his buddy “Is it going to be like this all the time?”
I smiled and thought “oh boy – you have no idea what you’re in for”. The face of poker has changed. For years the only woman at the poker table had to listen to all the male talk, we had to listen to football discussions, comments on the cocktail waitresses’ boobs, and all kinds of testosterone-driven drivel - all while being called ‘sweetie’ or ‘honey’. And look at us now…. “We’ve come a long way, baby!!”

… to be continued…