Sheikhan/Matusow penalties, WSOP ME.

[Chipr777]

I had a chance to speak with Ken Lambert today about the Sheikhan/Matusow penalties at the WSOP. For those of you that don't know the situation here's the quote from Pokerwire on what happened.

"Shawn Sheikhan made a comment during a hand in progress and Mike Matusow told him to "STFU". When Jack Eiffel, the tournament director, came over to resolve the problem, Shawn Sheikham repeated Matusow's comment verbatim. Because the camera's were rolling when he repeated the comment, both players were given a ten minute penalty."

Pokerwire was way off base. Sheikham was not penalised for repeating what Matasow said. He was penalised for slamming his hands on the table and screaming out what Matasow said. According to TDA rules, "A penalty MAY be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, if a card(s) goes off the table, if softplay occurs, or similar incidents take place. Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of abuse, disruptive behavior, or similar incidents. I don't think there's any doubt that the way he presented his case was disruptive. If he had just repeated what Matasow had said he wouldv'e been fine.