Zinno: 'I Want to See More Women Play These Things'
Darren Elias won an unprecedented fourth World Poker Tour title Wednesday night to break a multi-way tie at three.
A consequence of a record broken is that the previous record holders lose their places in history. Gus Hansen, Anthony Zinno, Chino Rheem and Carlos Mortensen will have to soar to new heights and match Elias if they are to regain their former glory as the most-decorated WPT champions.
"I like Darren a lot so it's impossible to anti-sweat the guy."
Given that, one might expect someone like Zinno to be rooting against Elias as he attempted to scrub Zinno's name from the record books. However, the friendly American said he couldn't bring himself to anti-sweat Elias.
"I like Darren a lot so it's impossible to anti-sweat the guy," Zinno said of his fellow East Coaster. "He's married, he has a baby now, so I'm sure he's going to do good things with the money.
"It would have been cool to be the first to get to four. But hey, it's extra motivation to keep working hard. I think I'll eventually still get four."
Zinno called Elias "one of the best" and said Elias beating him to the record actually represented a little bit of revenge in their friendly rivalry. Back in 2015, Elias appeared to have WPT Player of the Year honors locked up after winning back-to-back events in fall of 2014. However, Zinno rocketed past him with two titles of his own in the spring to leave Elias runner-up.
Rooting for Women
While Zinno may not have been anti-sweating Elias in the sense many would expect, he was rooting against him for an entirely unrelated reason.
"I was actually really rooting for Kitty [Kuo]," he said. "I basically want to bring more women to the game."
Just three of the top 100 tournament money winners in 2018 are women — Kuo, Maria Lampropoulos and Kristen Bicknell. The top 100 in terms of number of cashes also includes just three — Aylar Lie, Loni Harwood and Gloria Molina.
"I want to see more women play these things. I think it's just so good for the game.
That's no way to get a representative sample of exactly how many women are playing poker, though it's certainly not a positive indicator. A look through the WPT Tournament of Champions field paints an even more stark picture, as men make up the full 80 players.
The only eligible female champion is Ema Zajmovic, who opted not to participate this year.
Zinno's had personal experience entering a male-dominated field before, and he's seen how things can change for the better over the years. When he studied chemical engineering in college, Zinno estimates the classes were 80 or 85 percent male.
Nowadays, it's closer to 50 percent, he said. The fact that the shift occurred over a relatively short time frame gives him hope that poker could experience something similar.
"I want to see more women play these things," he said. "I think it's just so good for the game. I think we're going to see that happen as poker goes on. But, if you had Kitty win, it increases the chances of that being more rapid."
"As a community, we have to make sure we always embrace treating them well at the table. We have to make sure to welcome them."
Anecdotally, Zinno said he's run into plenty of women who would be natural fits at the table. For example, women who are into board games, video games or stock trading or have a talent for math. When Zinno asks them if they've tried poker, they often say they haven't but would be interested in learning.
Women take note when other women have success, Zinno said. If they see women accomplishing things in poker, wider exposure to the game will follow.
Someday, when his time obsessively traveling the poker circuit declines, Zinno would like to find a way to reach out and spread the gospel of poker. For now, he's focused on doing his part at the table and hopes his fellow male players follow suit.
"If I were to go sit in a class that was 90 percent women, I might be a little uncomfortable," he said. "As a community, we have to make sure we always embrace treating them well at the table. We have to make sure to welcome them."
Photos courtesy of Joe Giron/WPT
