The
World Series of Poker is only a few months away, which means that I will soon be in store for some more interesting, unique, or, possibly, bad decisions to write about. The
WSOP has always been the one event that brings together floor personnel from all over the country (and probably other countries), and with it, the potential for rules and procedures confusion, and inconsistent decisions.
In the past, I have probably been overly critical of the professionals who come together each year for the
WSOP. Individually, they are great at what they do, but even the best would have a difficult time at the
WSOP. The truth is that the floor personnel, along with the dealers and every other employee who is hired to work the
WSOP, do an excellent job in a high-intensity, high-stress situation. I received an e-mail from a member of the 2006
WSOP floor staff, and it made me realize that I probably don't pat them on the back as much as I should.
He wrote to me in response to a previous column of mine in which I discussed an incident that happened during the 2006 WSOP. During an Omaha tournament, I was missing chips, after another player had claimed to have "lost" chips earlier in the tournament. In that column, I described the outcome for me: "The good news for me was that I was able to get the chips back by pushing the issue. I do believe that had I been just some random player, I probably would not have gotten them back. That's bad, and I think that a simple solution could be implemented to protect players who want protection." The other player had not been so lucky.
In his e-mail, a floorperson responded: "Obviously, those of us in supervisory positions know where the "name" players, or at least the better-known players, are seated in any given tournament; you would be included in that category. I would like to think that no player is given preferential treatment over any other, but I wasn't born yesterday, and, in fact, some floorpeople do that on occasion. Having said that, I know for a fact that if any player had come to one of the floor staff on that shift with the same issue, we would have done everything in our power to confirm, or not, the actual count for said player."
I believe that the floor staff did what they could to try to find the other player's chips. I wrote in that column: "The floor staff double-checked their bank, called surveillance, and tried to figure out if they could find a problem, but they never could." The difference between the two situations, I believe, is that the staff knew deep down that I was 100 percent sure that I was right, and having had no previous contact with the other player, they probably assumed that he had made a mistake on his count. It is human nature to believe someone you know or with whom you have had experience, as is the case with many of the floor staff and me.
The real problem, also addressed in that column, is not whether the staff members will (or did) go out of their way to find missing chips. These problems can be avoided by implementing measures that enable players to protect themselves. In the e-mail that I received, the floorperson pointed out that players are allowed to stay for a chip race (which is when my chips went missing). Although that is something I could have done to prevent what happened to me, I don't think it is enough. After a chip race, players leave the room, which means that many players are walking past tables with vulnerable stacks, and dealers are oftentimes pushing at the same time.
I hope that when I show up at the
WSOP this year, they will have implemented some kind of system that enables players to record and confirm their chip counts before they go on break, if they choose to do so.
I am looking forward to the 2007
WSOP, and I know that Harrah's will put together a hard-working and knowledgeable staff, as it does every year.
Michael O'Malley is the poker room manager for www.PartyGaming.com, and can be reached at [email protected]. His website is updated regularly at www.rzitup.com.
