The atmosphere in the room is closer to that of a church than a dance club. The crowd seems very focused on the action, perhaps because they know so many of the players' names and faces and they don't want to miss a thing. There's not even a lot of idle chat going on in the bleachers--people are watching the table (or the bigscreen TVs above the table), leaning forward with arms crossed.
After one hand our tournament director said, "You are permitted to applaud the players," and there was a quick, nervous smattering of applause. There is $800,000 and a bracelet on the line, of course.