Monthly Archives: December 2021

The former state Sen. Rickey Hendon recently released an ambitious proposal concerning sportsbooks in Chicago. Hendon called for women and minority ownership in sports betting venues in the city of Chicago. The former senator believes that gambling legislation should be made with women and minorities in mind to ensure they have a seat at the table.

In this article, we will tell you more about Hendon’s proposal and the current situation concerning ownership of sportsbooks in Chicago.

Representation

Former senator Hendon holds the belief that representation in all spheres of life matters, which is why he came up with this proposal.

For the past few years, there have been many discussions regarding the role of women and ethnic/racial minorities in the US. Stories of systemic racism and misogyny have dominated news cycles and it seems like the country is coming into terms with its past racist and sexists practices and it’s now trying to make things right.

Of course, there’s the opposing viewpoint that we don’t need to have these conversations anymore since we no longer live in this past and that movements such as the Civil Rights movement and the Feminist Revolution of the 1960’s have already undone the damage caused.

No matter where you stand in this debate, the important question is whether you support legislation that is specifically tailored to advance previously oppressed groups of people, since Hendon’s proposal is precisely that.

You can simultaneously hold the belief that women and ethnic/racial minorities have suffered tremendously, while opposing such legislative attempts. This type of legislation is sometimes referred to as “positive discrimination” or “the practice or policy of favoring individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated against previously.” Some individuals vehemently opposite it by claiming that all forms of discrimination are, well, discriminating and thus wrong. Others stand on the opposite side of the spectrum by saying that such laws will bring the long-waited equity where each group of people will truly be equal to one another.

So, when you analyze Hendon’s idea, you should think about these concepts and make up your own mind.

The Proposal

Now let’s talk a little bit more about the proposal itself by examining its prospective effects, as well as Hendon’s motivations for creating it.

First, some background. In 2019, Illinois gov. J.B. Pritzker legalized sports betting in the state and he also allowed big stadiums to open sportsbooks in their vicinity. However, sports betting still has to be regulated by local authorities and the city of Chicago outlaws gambling.

Various legislators have called for gambling to be legalized in Chicago, including the mayor, Lori Lightfoot. She, however, criticized the proposed tax of 2% as too low, and the bill couldn’t pass in the city council. Lightfoot is also concerned that there is hardly any minority representation in these legislative proposals.

Enter Ricky Hendon. Instead of trying to draft bills in Chicago, Hendon set his eyes on Springfield, believing it to be the stepping stone to legalizing sports betting in the windy city. Hendon, who is Black, said that the Black aldermen of Springfield would oppose legalization in their city unless they are included in the legislative process.

Hendon’s proposal is to grant sportsbook licenses to underrepresented groups in gambling such as racial/ethnic minorities and women. He says that these groups need to be represented since they are already contributing to the treasury by gambling: “A lot of Black and Latino people bet on sports as well, so why not give us an opportunity to participate.”

Still, Hendon thinks this issue has to do with economic factors as well. Under the 2019 gambling bill, big sports teams can open sportsbooks in a five-block exclusionary zone around their large stadiums, which gives them a massive advantage over everyone else who would like to participate in the industry.

Hendon notes that it shouldn’t only be billionaires who can have sportsbooks, but also savvy independent entrepreneurs. Under his proposal, women and minorities would be able to receive licenses to open sportsbooks just outside this five-block exclusionary zone granted to famous Illinois sports teams.

Lightfoot initially opposed granting sportsbook licenses to big stadiums, but she seems to have changed her mind. We can’t say for certain whether she would accept Hendon’s idea or not, but her stances on similar topics have led us to believe that Hendon’s proposal might be successful.

Hendon is leading similar efforts to make Illinois cannabis industry more equitable. He continues to ask for more representation for women in minorities in the lucrative cannabis market. His efforts have been successful. This year, 55 licenses allowing the sale of cannabis have been handed to companies that mean to diversify the market. This makes us suspect that Hendon’s sportsbook proposal can also come to fruition.

Hello, dear ladies! Since our website was specifically created to discuss women and gambling, it’s only appropriate to dedicate an article to the leading ladies in the world of gambling. Our focus today is the female poker stars.

We will tell you about the most notorious female poker players and how much money they have made over the years. We hope this article shows you that poker is not (at least anymore) a man’s world, but it’s open to everyone and these ladies and their accomplishments exemplify just that. So, sit back and enjoy reading!

The Poker Stars

Before we get into details, we think it’s important to tell you how we chose poker players that we included in this article. One of the criteria was winnings, meaning that we looked at the most affluent female players.

The other criteria had to do with breaking the glass ceiling or ones of the first professional female poker players who gave us the courage to follow in their footsteps. Sometimes, the two categories overlap, so we will not divide the players by them.

Barbara Enright

The California-born Barbara Enright is a pioneer for all women who enter the poker industry. She started playing poker as a small child and then began frequenting poker rooms in 1976. Enright eventually gave up her regular job for a full-time career in poker, which certainly paid off.

She is the first woman to win an event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the only woman to have ever reached a main event final table where she finished fifth. Enright also became the first woman to win three bracelets at WSOP, but she’s not the only one to hold this record today. Finally, she was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the first female player in 2007. Enright has lifetime winnings of $1.6 million.

Liv Boeree

Liv Boeree, also called the Iron Maiden, is a British player who made her name with the Ultimatepoker Showdown in 2005, during which she both presented and played. Perhaps her experience as a poker reporter helped her succeed. Boeree is the only woman to have won a WSOP bracelet and a European Poker Tour (EPT) title.

She has also won the European Poker Awards’ Female Player of the Year for three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016). Her biggest success came in San Remo during the EPT where she won €1.25 million. Boeree has lifetime winnings of $3.57 million.

Jennifer Harman

The American poker star Jennifer Harman is somewhat of an outlier on this list. That’s because when she first won a bracelet at an open event, was the first time she played poker! Harman won another bracelet two years later and she was eventually inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Her lifetime winnings are $2.7 million and they mainly come from high stakes poker games.

Annette Obrestad

Annette Obrestad, the Norwegian poker star, caught our eye when she became the youngest person to win a WSOP bracelet in 2007 at the age of 18. She managed to bag $2 million from this event, which turned her into a star overnight. However, nowadays she’s more concentrated on her beauty and fitness YouTube channel. Obrestad’s lifetime winnings are $3.9 million.

Kathy Liebert

American-born Kathy Liebert, also referred to as PokerKat, continues to be one of the most successful and prolific female poker players. She has been a constant present in the industry for the past two decades. During this time, she reached six final tables at the World Poker Tour (WPT). She also became the first woman to win a prize over $1 million at PartyPoker Million.

Liebert won her WSOP bracelet in 2004 whereas her highest WSOP Main Event finish was in 2000 when she was at the seventeenth place. Liebert continues playing and she lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she plays poker very often. Her lifetime winnings equate to the staggering $6.17 million.

Vanessa Selbst

Now hands off to the queen – Vanessa Selbst. The Brooklyn-born player is perhaps the best female poker star to this day. Selbst started playing the game while she was studying political science at Yale University and almost immediately started participating in tournaments.

She went on to win the North American Poker Tour in 2010, which made her a global star. Selbst has 3 golden bracelets to her name, 8 final tables and 20 money finishes. Her biggest win came at the Partouche Poker Tour where she made $1.82 million. Selbst is the richest female poker player in history with winnings of $11.8 million. She is also the first (and so far the only) woman to have reached the number one ranking on the Global Poker Index.