Some Unhappy About WTA Ladies Champ. Donation

Last week a number oh high profile female poker players that included two time World Series of Poker Ladies Champion Susie Isaacs canceled their plans of competing in the World Poker Tour's 2008 Ladies Championship. 

Isaacs created a firestorm across the country after she learned that the World Poker Tour was going to putting aside 15 percent of the prize pool as a donation to their event partner, Susan G. Kromen for the Cure.

World Poker Association Chairman, Wendeen H. Eolis explains, “The furor has centered on the WPT’s insensitivity to the varying financial means of ‘working players’ and more broadly on the decision to compel a charitable donation in an event labeled as a championship.” Explained World Poker Association Chairman, Wendeen H. Eolis.

The WPT had never exacted such a pledge in any other previous championship event. Eolis called upon the WPT to “reverse this mistake” for the future.

Lyle Berman is the Chairman of the Board of the World Poker Tour Enterprises and he told Eolis,  “The WPT has re-evaluated its decision to make a charitable donation a condition for participation in the WPT Ladies Championship.” He added, “In the future there will be no such requirement in a WPT championship event.”

Susie Isaacs and fellow boycotters of the WPT's Ladies event wanted to make it clear they are for giving to charities and Isaac said, “We were completely amenable to promoting the tournament and encouraging women to contribute to SGK from their prize winnings, as appropriate to their individual bankrolls, if the WPT would just make the donations optional.”