I have yet to see any official numbers regarding the number of women who played in the 2010 World Series of Poker, but I think it is probably safe to say that there wasn’t much change from recent years with regard to the number of women playing. In other words, once again women players were by far in the minority in all of the open-field events, in some cases staggeringly so.

Actually, there never are “official” statistics regarding the number of women who play in the WSOP, since entrants are not designated by sex. However, with the Main Event there is always an unofficial tally taken to determine how many women are among the thousands who come to take their shot at the big one.

In 2009, the estimate was that there were 187 women among the field of 6,844 -- about 2.7% of the field. This year 216 women were counted of the 7,319 who played the Main Event -- a slight increase percentage-wise to 2.95%. In other words, when passing between the tables this year on those Day Ones, we once again only saw a woman about once every three or four tables or so.

If I had to guess, I’d say the percentages of women playing in other open-field events at this summer’s WSOP were similarly low -- perhaps higher than less than 3% for most events, although I do know at least one (Event No. 19, the $10,000 Deuce-to -Seven Draw Championship, No-Limit) in which there were 101 entrants and just one woman (Vanessa Rousso).

Such numbers again bring up the question of how best to increase women’s participation at the WSOP -- not just in the Main Event, but in all of the events. What could Harrah’s and the WSOP do to help encourage women to play?

The WSOP certainly wants women to play. I recently had the chance to interview Nolan Dalla, WSOP Media Director, and in the context of a discussion about the Ladies Event he reiterated his view to me that “we need more women in poker.” “No one can disagree with that,” he added, noting it was “a good thing” not just for women but for all.

Dalla and I also talked about how the WSOP has changed over the years from a more intimate, “family reunion”-like affair where everyone knew one another to the enormous spectacle it is today. Since taking over the WSOP in 2004, Harrah’s has faced numerous challenges to accommodate the thousands and thousands of players who descend upon Vegas each summer, and while not every challenge has been perfectly answered over the years, in my view they have done a remarkable job at making the WSOP as inviting to players -- both men and women -- as they possibly can.

When I think of what the WSOP could do to bring more women into the game, my first thoughts aren’t necessarily sex-specific. Rather, I think of ways the WSOP could better persuade all players -- both men and women -- to play. Things like finding a way to reduce event fees or the “juice” (rather than increase the fees, as has been the case over recent years). Or continuing to tweak the schedules so as to minimize or prevent entirely players having to play too many marathon days consecutively. Or improve still further the food offerings for the many players who are unable to leave the Rio during breaks.

There’s probably a good reason why my thoughts turn in that direction initially when thinking about this issue. That’s because after many years as an adult man, I learned long ago not to be too eager to claim to know what women want.

That said, I’m well aware of certain aspects of what might be called the “culture” of poker that can be specifically off-putting to women. Poker has long been thought of as a “man’s game” and thus carries with it a host of associations and even prejudices with which even today’s players are familiar. Indeed, at times the media will reaffirm such chauvinism, with coverage of the WSOP occasionally reinforcing long-held stereotypes about female poker players, including promoting the significance of how they look over how they play.

When it comes to the WSOP and its responsibilities, it cannot control how others talk about or report on the Series. (Not utterly, anyhow.) But it can perhaps serve as a guide of sorts in its own advertising and promotion, which in the past has occasionally shown that tendency toward catering to a male demographic in a way that specifically excludes the woman poker player.

One could argue that much has changed at the WSOP along these lines in recent years. Some remember the Gaming and Life Expo at the 2007 WSOP, replete with dancers from the Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club. That seems to have been relegated to the past, not reprised subsequently at later iterations of the Expo or “PokerPalooza.”

But sometimes we still see slip-ups that betray a less mindful approach from the WSOP. For example, this year the Official Media Guide included a map of the Rio on which was shown a particular area described as the “Man Cave.” Located in the Brasilia Room, the “Man Cave” was apparently to be a space where players could get away from the action and enjoy a sports bar-like atmosphere in which to drink and watch the World Cup.

The “Man Cave” name was highlighted by many right away as a somewhat sexist vestige of poker’s past. In fact, the name didn’t last long, and if I’m not mistaken it was very early in the Series that the space was redubbed less-offensively as the “Bad Beat Bar.” In any event, I think the somewhat imprudent initial choice of name for the space shows how such ideas -- and the sometimes instinctive-seeming exclusion of women -- can still come up now and again in the context of poker and the WSOP.

All of which is to say the WSOP and those who wish to see it prosper -- and attract women players -- should always remain aware of the ways in which the “culture” of poker has excluded women in the past, and therefore actively try to do what they can to alter that culture for the better in the future.