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WSOP 2024: When Casual Sexism Takes the Spotlight

WSOP 2024: When Casual Sexism Takes the Spotlight
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Vasilisa Zyryanova Blog Content Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: December 25, 2024 · 5 minutes to read

The poker community has moved away from not welcoming women to the poker table. It seems that now, in 2024, women in poker receive almost equal treatment as men, thus disregarding the question of gender.

With that said, we didn’t use almost for no reason. At the start of WSOP 2024, the poker community witnessed one of the most outrageous cases of misogyny in the industry.

In this article, I want to break down what happened, bit by bit.

What Happened With Marias at WSOP 2024?

WSOP 2024 started on May 28th with a unheard of situation involving two renowned female poker professionals, Maria Ho and Maria Konnikova. The latter of the two shared the story in her blog on Substack.

WSOP 2024 Maria Konnikova (left) and Maria Ho (right)

Below is a third-person retelling of the events that went down, as well as direct quotes.

During Event #1 $5K NLH Freezeout Champions Reunion, both women used one of the permitted tournament breaks to get some fresh air. After ten minutes outside of the casino, they decided to return to their tables but were stopped by a WSOP security guard who said to them:

“Poker players only beyond this point. You’re going to have to leave.”

The two women were surprised by this demand, with Konnikova engaging in a conversation with the security guard:

  • Maria Konnikova: “We are poker players.”
  • Security Guard: “I’m going to need to see some identification.”
  • Maria Konnikova: “You do realize that you’re stopping the only two women here?”
  • Security Guard: “This is my job! I have to stop everyone.”

Curiously enough, while saying the last piece, the security guard looked at Maria as if she had said something to offend him.

His statement seemed strange not only because he asked to see documented proof of two women being professional players but because he did not do the same for numerous male poker players who passed by and freely walked back into the venue during this exchange.

There was only a minute left of her official break, when Marias was assisted by David Williams. He noticed this undoubtedly unusual mise-en-scène and rushed in asking simply: “What is going on here?”.

Of course, this aided the situated, as the two women were immediately allowed back into the tournament area. As Konnikova writes: “David is ever-so-slightly more imposing-looking than either of the Marias.”

Later as the level wore on, Maria Ho texted to Maria Konnikova: “I am kind of in shock. I can’t believe that happened.”

It was equally shocking but not so unbelievably for Konnikova herself, as she said: “I was in shock, too. But can I believe that happened? Unfortunately, very much so.”

At this point it’s important to remember that Maria Konnikova and Maria Ho aren’t just any female poker players:

  • Maria Konnikova is a PokerStars Team Pro. Not to mention, she is the winner of $1,5K PCA National 2018 and $525 Main Event of WSOPC Online 2024. She is also an author of bestsellers such as The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win.
  • Maria Ho is a poker commentator and presenter, the winner of poker reality-show “Game of Gold”. Currently, she has more than $5M in total live earnings from poker to her name.

If two experienced, reputable and powerful women in poker were stopped from doing their job and questioned over it because of existing gender bias, we can imagine how the poker environment may be for other women, especially ones at the start of their poker careers. 

How Poker Twitter Reacted

This story from WSOP 2024 shook the poker community on X (ex-Twitter). More than a few people were shocked by the level of sexism and bias shown by the security guard. We collected a few of the comments.

Poker player, producer and host of “The Chip Race Podcast” David Lappin summarized this situation in his unique style:

Poker player and mindset & performance coach Adrienne Carter wrote:

Poker player and writer Alex O’Brian suggested to Poker Tournament Director Association (TDA) to make meaningful changes in the rules, while other women came forward sharing their own experiences with sexism in poker.

Poker player and yoga instructor Amanda Baker confirmed that this is not an isolated incident, affecting just WSOP 2024:

“Similar things have happened to me before, and it’s incredibly frustrating to hear that it is still happening. WSOP will you please train your security guards to avoid making these mistakes? This shouldn’t still be happening in 2024.”

Similarly, poker dealer and player Stephanie Miller had the same experience because of her gender but was blocked by a female security guard:

“This happened to me yesterday and I’m a dealer. Security asked me if I was a player I stated yes, told them I was also a dealer and showed her my badge. She said “only players are allowed in the tournament area”. I stated I just told you I’m a player. We went to mngment🙄😡“

Why Aren’t Women Rushing Into Poker in 2024?

As Maria Konnikova writes, the number of women in poker is quite low — between 3% and 4% of any given field — because the poker environment simply isn’t welcoming enough to women:

“We get asked all the time why more women don’t play poker. Once you realize what Maria and I went through when we hadn’t even gotten to the tables, are you honestly surprised?

It’s not until we foster an environment that is welcoming from start to finish, that prioritizes and incentivizes acting in an unbiased way throughout the entirety of a poker player’s journey — from entering the tournament environment through the final table — that we will start to see any sort of change.”

If you think that some women exaggerate the seriousness of sexism in poker, it will be very educational to watch or read some of their first-hand experience. The good example from the start of 2024 is a video from Abby Merk:

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