With the 2010 World Series of Poker just a week away, talk has picked up regarding what trends, stories, and/or players will be among the “ones to watch” at the Rio this summer. Recent victories by women in major events have encouraged many to dub 2010 the “Year of the Woman” - even before we’ve reached the midway point of the calendar year, never mind reached the WSOP!

Such declarations are interesting for a variety of reasons. They certainly say something about our culture - or perhaps, more specifically, the culture of poker - wherein it does not take that many examples of a woman succeeding in a male-dominated field to trigger grand conclusions about men and women and the relative significance of one’s sex.

We see this phenomenon in other areas of our culture. The recent nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court is a good example. If Kagan were to be confirmed, she’d become the fourth woman ever to serve as a Supreme Court justice, and the third on the current bench.

While op-eds have addressed a variety of topics surrounding Kagan’s nomination - including, incidentally, her being a poker player - many have primarily focused on the larger meaning of adding another female justice. Does Kagan’s nomination further indicate a shift in thinking about women and their traditional “roles”? Will it prefigure still more change? And how much closer would her appointment bring us to a future in which a woman is elected president - a future “Year of the Woman”?

This sort of talk produces different responses, of course, with some being very enthusiastic about such developments, while others are less so. In fact, we’ve started to see these differing reactions a bit with regard to women’s success in poker tournaments.

That is to say, some are very excited about the idea of 2010 being the “Year of the Woman” in poker. Others . . . not as much.

It was just a few weeks ago that Bernard Lee over at ESPN suggested “it is quickly becoming the Year of the Woman.” Lee made his comment in the wake of Liv Boeree’s triumph in the Main Event at EPT San Remo where she bested a huge field of 1,240 to take away the €1,250,000 first prize. Just a week earlier, Vanessa Selbst (owner of one WSOP bracelet in an open event) had taken down the NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Event, topping a field of 716 runners for a $750,000 score. And in March, Annie Duke had become the first woman to win the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship to add another half a million dollars to her career earnings.

Thus came Lee’s comment - since echoed by others - to which he added his hope that the trend of women doing well would continue.

Even more enthusiastic about the success of women on the professional circuit thus far in 2010 - and about the prospect of more successes to come - was Ty Stewart, Vice President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, during his appearance on “Poker2Nite” last month.

When asked for predictions regarding the upcoming Series, Stewart boldly forecasted “three-plus bracelets in the open events for the ladies.” Stewart added that the lack of wins of late by women in open WSOP events - there have been two in the last six years (Selbst in 2008 and Katja Thater in 2007) - was “a statistical anomaly the other way,” and that he firmly believed 2010 was going to be “the year of the ladies.”

If Stewart’s prediction were to come true, 2010 would be the first time since 2004 that three women have won WSOP bracelets in open events (when Annie Duke, Kathy Liebert, and Cyndy Violette each won).

Lee and Stewart clearly view the continued success of women in poker as a positive development, good for the game as a whole. Such is the response of some to the prospect of adding a third female justice to the Supreme Court - that coming closer to a balance between men and women on the bench would be not just good for women, but good for everyone.

Others are less excited about these victories by women, however.

A few weeks after Stewart’s appearance on “Poker2Nite,” the ever-colorful Mike “the Mouth” Matusow appeared as a guest. Host Scott Huff - perhaps being purposely provocative - asked Matusow to comment on Stewart’s prediction and offer his own thoughts regarding how many women would win bracelets this summer.

Matusow initially responded with a few seconds of silence. Finally, he spoke: “That’s not a serious question, is it?”

Huff pursued the topic, alluding to the victories by Duke, Selbst, and Boeree in support of the “Year of the Woman” idea, to which Matusow responded by casting some doubts on those particular achievements, referring obliquely to some of the good fortune the winners enjoyed on their way to victory. Eventually he offered a more specific rejoinder to Stewart’s prediction.

“I’m going to tell you right now,” said Matusow, “if three women win a bracelet at the World Series of Poker, I’ll run naked down the [Las Vegas] strip with a camera behind me.”

Matusow’s promise (or threat?) to expose himself could be regarded as itself a kind of exposure - namely of his lack of enthusiasm about women’s abilities and/or prospects at the 2010 WSOP. Matusow isn’t alone in his view, either. Truth be told, there are plenty of others in poker who aren’t as excited as Lee or Stewart at the prospect of seeing more women compete and succeed in the traditionally male-dominated game. (Similarly do some feel two women on the Supreme Court are plenty - and perhaps one or two too many!)

Whatever happens this summer at the WSOP, it will be interesting to see whether this “Year of the Woman” talk persists, and if it does, what kinds of responses it provokes. And/or citations for indecent exposure.

Read: She Said