BY: BOB PAJICH | bob.pajich@cardplayer.com
PUBLISHED: Friday Mar 07, 2008 02:46 PM
"Panetta's victory was overshadowed by the antics of Lesley S. Thornburg, who, according to a tournament report written by Nolan Dalla, the WSOP media director, received two warnings for unsportsmanlike behavior during the event's first day for "a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours."
With seven players left, Thornburg ended up all-in against Andy Santiago, who had Thornburg dominated with A-Q versus A-7. But a 7 on the flop gave the unorthodox Thornburg the chip lead, to the dismay of the remaining players, who were forced to further endure Thornburg's tactics.
Two hands later, Thornburg again caught lighting in a bottle when he called an all-in raise by Edward "Yank" Sullivan, who held pocket sevens. Thornburg held pocket fours, but a four flopped and knocked Sullivan out of the tournament. He earned $15,855.
This is when things turned weird. Here's what Dalla wrote about the situation:
"Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone's patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, "all in." Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg's immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, Va., earned $19,026 in prize money."
Thornburg's chips were then removed from play, and the tournament continued fourhanded.
The top nine finishers and their payouts follow:
- Frank Panetta - $76,104
- Andy Santiago - $42,824
- Todd Rebello - $25,368
- Lee Ervin - $22,197
- Lesley S. Thornburg (disqualified) - $19,026
- Edward "Yank" Sullivan - $15,855
- Donald Mercer - $12,684
- "Karate" Mike Santoro - $9,513
- Francis Snyder - $6,342
Sounds like Tony G to me or how bout Mr Brenes or Hevad Khan. Loud Obnoxious players trying to bully and intimidate their opppents. Now I think that there is way too much boorish Behavior at the tables already but this seems a bit heavy handed.
why wouldn't they just give him a time peanalty like Mike "the Mouth" Mattusow got for uttering F Bombs at the 2005 Wsop Main Event? Maybe they should have picked Mike Mattusow up after the 3rd F Bomb.
the Proposed new Rules from Matt Savage's Blog here is one Nice one.
"One new rule that I like is Rule #36 which states: "Excessive celebration through extended theatrics, inappropriate behavior, or physical actions, gestures, or conduct may be subject to penalty. Hevad Khan and Humberto Brenes could be in real trouble in 2008."
Should be Interesting to watch the Fallout from these new rules changes. Lets hope it gets rid of some of the Out of line celebrations.
Namaste
