Men will have to pay a hefty price, in addition to the public shaming, in order to compete in the “Ladies” event at the 2013 World Series of Poker.

The WSOP announced Thursday, as part of the release of the 2013 summer schedule, that the buy-in for the special tournament will be raised from $1,000 to $10,000, and women will get a $9,000 discount. The goal is dissuade men from playing.

“We love the Ladies event,” WSOP spokesman Seth Palansky said via email. “It has history with us dating back to 1977. We want to do everything we can to bring more ladies into the game and give them a comfortable environment in which to play. As we follow all laws, the change this year allows us to accomplish our goals while remaining law-abiding.”

The WSOP can’t implement an outright ban on men from entering.

Reaction on social media was overwhelmingly supportive, with many big name pros voicing their opinions on the WSOP’s creative decision.

Single men ought play the @wsop Ladies Event this year. It’s just like buying every woman in the tournament a martini. #DontBeCheap — Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) February 14, 2013

Bravo @wsop addressing the issue of “men” playing ladies events by making it a $10k and giving ladies a $9k discount! Very clever! — Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) February 14, 2013

Also, having no guys in the ladies event is the only way a room full of women can synch up our menstrual cycles. TY @wsop very classy — Maria Mayrinck (@Maridu) February 14, 2013

Love what the @wsop did with the Ladies’ event this year. Excellent creativity to keep out douche bag guys unless they wanna spend 10x buyin — Dan O’Brien (@DanOBrienPoker) February 14, 2013

Should be interesting to see if any ego’s come out from guys that drop $10,000 to play in the Ladies @wsop 1k tournament this Summer. — Dan Fleyshman (@DanFleyshman) February 14, 2013

Pretty sure at this price structure the Ladies in the Ladies Event @wsop will actually want a few brave men to enter. Well done #WSOP — Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz) February 14, 2013

I expect record numbers for the @wsop $10k ladies event with ladies getting a discount to enter for $1k #wecantpassupagoodsale — Danielle Barille (@YeeGone) February 14, 2013

Image via blog.cakepoker.eu.