Lucky Dog Poker by Russ Scott

People climb Mount Everest because it's there. They parachute out of perfectly good airplanes because they can. I get all of that.

What baffles me is why a man would play in a ladies poker tournament. It happened again Sept. 11-12 in Atlantic City, and would have been worth only a tournament footnote except he won the danged thing.

Abraham Korotki, a 65-year-old semi-retired real estate developer from Ventnor City, N.J., was the lone male in a field of 269 competing in Event No. 7 at the Borgata Poker Open. The nearly $21,000 top prize pushed his official career tournament winnings to more than $660,000 in just three years of play.

His victory also reignited an even richer debate.

Poker Websites and mainstream media picked up the story, touching off a firestorm of comment that ranged from blasting Korotki in unflattering terms to chiding complaining women players who embrace equality but don't like men entering "their" tournaments.

Fueling the fuss, rightly or wrongly, was the fact that his final opponent, Nicole Rowe of West Windsor, N.Y., recently was diagnosed with breast cancer and faces major surgery. She received $11,889 for second place — she also was runner-up in this event in 2007 — and graciously downplayed the turmoil.

"The only thing that has bothered me in the least is that some of the girls said they won't come back for another ladies event," she told Borgata's tournament blogging team. "I don't want one bad decision by a nice man to ruin it for all of us in the future. (The tournament) was 16 hours of being cancer free, a diversion from my reality."

On past occasions when men entered ladies events, the intent usually was playful or promotional. Up in the air, though, is why Korotki plunked down $300 to play against the gals. Here are some possibilities:

— The action. Korotki signed up after being eliminated quickly in Event No.

6. "I got tired of going home early. I hadn't had enough poker time," he told the casino's bloggers.

However, there were two other open tournaments remaining on that day's schedule.

— A legal challenge. Anti-discrimination laws are on Korotki's side. Borgata's poker marketing director Ray Stefanelli told Poker News Daily: "Given both legal and regulatory requirements, we must allow anyone who is over the age of 21 the opportunity to participate in all of our events. It was our hope that only women would seek to participate."

That said, a legal challenge typically isn't a spur of the moment thing. Nor was this an act of discrimination worth defying.

— Easy money. Korotki may have decided he would have a big edge despite the rather large field. He likely was correct, because such events attract many women who play infrequently or aren't comfortable playing against men.

Even if true, his thinking was shortsighted. To continue to thrive, the game needs more players (especially women) and a positive image. His actions undermine both needs.

Poker's boom has brought more women into the game, but sadly it's still a man's domain. The number of women in open tournaments rarely hits 5 percent, which makes women the most important demographic for poker growth.

Jennifer Harman, one of poker's elite players and two-time World Series open-event bracelet winner, knows how tough it is for women to step into the male-dominated game. In a 2007 interview, I asked what advice she had for women wanting to play.

"Women tend to get a little nervous playing because they're surrounded by men and, you know, maybe somebody will make some kind of comment and they'll get shaken up," Harman said. "I would tell them to get in there and stay focused on poker and not worry about the external stuff. And have fun!"

Abraham Korotki didn't do the game of poker any favors. If the ladies want to play their own events, let 'em.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 RUSS SCOTT

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