Not on Tom's Watch
We've seen railbirds do just about everything you can imagine in our time covering events. We've been crowded to the point we can't see a table, had beer spilt on us, had players unplug our equipment, been farted on and we've even been flashed before. But none of this monkey business is going to happen at Harrah's St. Louis while Tom the security guard is on duty.
Tom views the stanchions that separates the players from their friends as an unbreakable barrier. All week long we've seen him back people up, clear spectators out of the tournament area and keep only in-the-money finishers in line at the payout desk.
We've been so impressed with his work we've developed our own mini meme. "Are you in the tournament?" we've asked each other dozens of times. We appreciate all of Tom's good work but asking each busted player if they're playing while in line probably adds a little more steam to an already heated player.