Poker Superstars
Phil Hellmuth
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Chip Leader Booted from WSOP Circuit Event |
 I’d imagine it takes quite a bit to get kicked out of a tournament. I’ve never seen it happen and never heard anything about it more than the crucial warnings laid on players on certain episodes of the WSOP (notably Mike Matusow and Sean Sheikhan and the which-player-anted? Chip battle from last year). It would take even more, you’d think, to get kicked out of a World Series of Poker event. And what about at the final table? With a chip lead? Could you possibly be enough of a jerk to get kicked out then? Well, thanks to a guy by the name of Lesley Thornburg, we now know the answer is YES.
It was at the first of the WSOP Circuit Series. This particularly tournament was being held at Caesar’s in Atlantic City, where 1056 players turned out. This $300 entry event has been noted as one of the largest pools in WSOP circuit history.
The now-notorious Lesley Thornburg had already been causing a bit of ruckus throughout the day. He’d received two separate warnings through out the day for what Nolan Dalla, the WSOP media director, stated as “a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours.”
Thornburg nearly missed his dramatic departure early in the final table, as he got all in against Andy Santiago with A 7 vs Santiago’s AQ, but a flopped 7 allowed him to keep on kicking, much to the chagrin of the remaining players for more reasons thatn one.
Two hands later Thornburg dodged another boot when he called another player’s all-inwith pocket 4’s. His opponent Edward Sullivan turned over pocket 7’s, glad to be ready to boot the loudmouth, but then another 4 on the flop made Thornburg not only still alive, but now the tournament chip leader. Which is where things took an even uglier turn.
Here’s what Dalla said about what happened next: “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.”
After this Thornburg’s chips were taken out of play and the tournament went on without him.
Here were the final table payouts:
* 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
A strange bunch of nonsense, no doubt, but some proof that if you act like an ass, you’ll be treated like one.
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