The World Poker Tour Ladies Championship Controversy

I promised myself I was not going to blog or write about this controversy because folks can take a statement or comment our of context and make you look like an idiot. But, here I am blogging about it. I has become so far-reaching, I feel an obligation to make it even more public. Why? Because I am such a proponent of women in poker and if that is true (and it is), I cannot just sweep this under the rug. First of all, let me make it absolutely clear that I am 100% in favor of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Charity and many others, Alzheimer's Research in particular. In case you don't know what is going on, let me fill you in: We (female poker players) have known for months that the World Poker Tour is having a Ladies Championship that will be televised. This is wonderful and exciting for ladies in poker everywhere. I know many who were going to travel to Las Vegas to participate. A week ago, a friend asked me if I had read the fine print on the WPT web site about this event. No, I had not, but I did. It reads:
Additionally, WPT has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures. Players will have the opportunity to donate at each tour stop and 15 percent of each $1,500 buy-in at the WPTL Championship will directly benefit Komen for the Cure.

This just isn't right. No one has ever suggested taking (not donating but withholding) 15% of any open field event (the majority of players being men) for prostrate cancer research and if it did happen, the men would raise holy hell!
Some of the questions that came up in conversations from my girlfriends and sent to Robyn Moder of the WPT were:

This event is not being hailed as a Charity/Championship event.
Can you imagine if they did this to the men?
I have my own favorite charity.
Will the WPT and the Belligo match the funds that are withheld from the prize pool?
We pay, the WPT get the praise for their generosity.
Who made this decision and why did they believe that we would just follow like sheep?
This is $225 each out of our prize pool plus the juice!
Who gets the tax write off?
Why do we not have a choice like on the WPT Ladies Tour events?

I did get a lengthy response from Ms. Moder. She also sent me an ad that ran - the mandatory 15% was mentioned and two press releases in which it also was mentioned. She also said and I quote, "We understand that many people have their own particular charities that they like to contribute to, however, if someone does not want to participate because of the SGK association, they simply do not need to."

To me she doesn't get my complaint. It is not that I don't want to participate because of the SGK, it is because the WPT is having a Charity tournament and calling it a championship. It is because there is s huge difference between optional and mandatory.

I personally know of a dozen gals who have changed their plans about playing this event. What a shame.

As a working player who would gladly have donated 5% of any win I may have taken, I am very disappointed that this event is no longer on my schedule. With the 15% and the juice I don't believe it is playable from a financial point of view.
This information is far reaching. I had an email from Lisa Adams in South Florida asking me if I would come on her radio show to discuss it. I suggested that she try to get Robyn Moder to also come on her show, so both sides could be discussed.