I wonder if they're all classy dames.

The 120 women who plan to attend the first Mickey's Camp for Women poker players Aug. 13-15 in rural Shelby County, that is.

Myra Borshoff Cook just laughed last week when I asked her about that.

Borshoff Cook, you'll recall, was peeved when Mickey Maurer called his retiring boss, Indiana Secretary of Commerce Pat Miller, a "classy dame." Maurer's comment reflected a sexist attitude, Borshoff Cook told me. My December 2005 column about it touched off quite a debate.

Maurer has heard it before, like when he started a men-only camp in 2001.

So what has changed for Borshoff Cook that she laughs about it now? Well, women get an equal opportunity to hang out with peers and do fun things like play poker, box or get a manicure. All for the same $1,500 price tag that men have paid since 2001 when Maurer started the camp. (For the record, men can get manicures at their camp this year, which is Aug. 15-17.)

After talking with several women signed up for the camp, I discovered they enrolled for the same reasons that the men do.

The first is rubbing elbows. "These are substantial women in the community and people I want to spend time with," said Susan Williams, president of the Indiana Sports Corp.

Then there are the 30-plus activities, from climbing the alpine tower to taking high- energy Zumba fitness classes with massages in between. Attorney Melissa Profitt Reese can't wait to play poker and golf, take a self-defense class and float along a river. Play route 66 poker.

Finally, it's the charity. About two-thirds of the registration fee is split among a charity named by the camper and four that Maurer chooses.

With two camps this year, Mickey's Campers will donate $250,000, pushing the overall total to about $850,000 since 2001.

Maurer caught flak when he started the camp for men, but said it always was his plan to run one for women. "This takes a lot of time and effort, and we wanted to get the concept perfected first." Play $500 match poker bonus.

So does the camp for women end this argument?

Probably not. Many of the 30-something women moving into leadership positions here are not among the initial list of campers. As many have pointed out, there is a generational gap, too.
But Indiana Black Expo President Joyce Rogers, like most of the others I talked to, figured she had better go. Play online poker.

"I was one of the people who kept bugging Mickey about doing a camp for women," she said. "I had to back that up."

Maurer promises not to disappoint. Lots of business gets done at the men's camp, and he expects the same of the women. Download poker wallpapers.

That's just what Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood, expects. "The sisterhood is delighted that Mickey and (wife) Janie have given us this opportunity," Cockrum said. "There's no question that Mickey's Camp for men has been a great experience for the dudes, and now it's our turn."

Dudes?

Poker News Source: Indy Star