Man wins women's poker event in Florida: 'I figured why not?'

A man won a women's poker tournament in Florida but says he is "100% against" men participating in women's sports.

Dave Hughes, who won the "Ladies No-Limit Hold'em" event at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida, said he drove over five hours to visit a friend competing in a $7 million poker event at the casino on April 29, 2023, TimCast reported.

However, when Hughes wanted to play in an event, the only game available for participation was the women's tournament. Hughes was able to compete in and win the tournament, as state law prevented management from barring a man from entering a women's event, according to PokerNews.com.

“I figured why not, the ladies, as you know, are just as fierce, capable, and competitive as the men in poker and smell a lot better as well,” Hughes told Timcast News.

“For the record, I’m 100% against men taking advantage of women in sports where strength and muscle make it quite unfair — as we all can clearly see with men breaking all records set by women in every sport across the board while pretending to be women," Hughes explained.

“It’s pathetic and embarrassing that we allow our women to be abused and victimized by this nonsense and eventually the country will wake up and put a stop to this," he added.

In a video posted to Twitter, one woman recorded Hughes' participation and noted that several women and one husband had placed a bounty on him. The bounty meant cash would be given to the person who knocked him out of the tournament. Hughes even added $100 of his own.

“At this time (all in good fun) the ladies and other spectators start[ed] putting cash bounties on my head for whoever sent me packing,” said Hughes. “This started at $300 and by night’s end was up to $2,000, which is a massive gift (equivalent to 2nd place money) added to the prize pool, which really made it fun for the ladies,” he continued.

The bounty, Hughes said, made the event "more exciting" with added incentive to knock him out. Since Hughes was never defeated, however, the $2,000 bounty was given to the second-place winner.

Hughes remarked that he is unlikely to enter another women's tournament despite the fanfare it created. “Doubt I’d ever do it again, but it sure caused a fuss and created a buzz and a lot of extra prize money for the ladies,” he admitted. “Women are every bit as good as men in any game that requires mental skill and wits.”

"Our young girls and women who dedicate their lives to playing sports deserve better [treatment], and the silent majority are starting to speak up.”

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