• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Florida man sparks debate over male inclusion in female sport after winning an women's-only poker tournament

Home> Other

Updated 02:37 4 May 2023 GMT+1Published 02:34 4 May 2023 GMT+1

Florida man sparks debate over male inclusion in female sport after winning an women's-only poker tournament

Dave Hughes snaked the kitty from his female opponents after he decided to ignore the ‘women’s only’ ruling.

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins

A Florida man has sparked debate over male inclusion in female sports after he entered a women-only poker tournament and won.

Dave Hughes, 70, snaked the USD$5,555 (£4,419, AUD$8,361) kitty from his female opponents after he decided to ignore the ‘women’s only’ ruling.

He entered the $250 (£198, AUD$376) no-limit Texas Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker’s Ladies event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

He was permitted to enter as Florida casinos are prohibited from disallowing men from entering such tournaments due to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Advert

83 players signed up for the poker event with a total prize pool of up to $17,450 (£13,883, AUD$26,263), with Hughes being the only male to enter.

Lo and behold he ended up winning the tournament, beating out Dayanna Ciabatoon in the final to take home the money.

Hughes’ actions have not gone down well with many, but sparked debate over anti-discrimination laws in sports and transgender females competing.

Advert

Professional player Ebony Kenney lashed out at Hughes on social media for entering the women's tournament.

She wrote: "Playing the World Poker Tour ladies event today, and Dave here is the only man.

"While we appreciate the dead money, I really wish men would get what these events stand for."

Professional poker player Charlie Carrel also weighed in.

Advert

"It pokes fun at the idea that anybody can identify as a woman and be allowed to enter women’s spaces," she wrote.

"It's a real issue that people are taking advantage of in many different areas, including sports, prisons, and changing areas. This has lead 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. I wouldn't do it, even though I probably share the same criticisms.”

She added: "Female-only spaces in poker are really needed. Mixed poker can often be absolutely horrendous environments for women to be a part of."

Advert

Other competitions, such as The World Series of Poker offers up a 90 per cent discount to females playing in women’s-only comps in order to deter men from entering.

The World Series of Poker’s Ladies event costs $10,000 (£7,955, AUD$15,052) to buy-in, so that discount is rather significant.

Featured Image Credit: @Ebony_Kenney/Twitter.

Topics: US Sports

Jayden Collins
Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

4 days ago
5 days ago
6 days ago
  • 4 days ago

    Tour de France cyclist died after drug binge that opened the world's eyes to doping dangers

    Tommy Simpson collapsed near the summit of Mont Ventoux in Provence at the age of 29 back in 1967.

    Other
  • 4 days ago

    Tour de France riders face 14 day bans as cycling's VAR is introduced

    The 2025 Tour de France will see yellow cards introduced for bad behaviour thanks to cycling’s version of VAR.

    Other
  • 5 days ago

    What happened to world champion diver who ignored 'no women' sign on extreme water slide

    The diver went viral after risking serious injury on a waterslide

    Other
  • 6 days ago

    Stadium that hosted huge sporting events for over 100 years was demolished after devastating incident

    The stadium played host to athletics, football, cricket and rugby.

    Other
  • Piers Morgan sparks fierce debate with response to two trans players contesting final of women's pool tournament