Melikian Issued One-Round Penalty with 10 Big Blinds
Just over 10 minutes into the break, Ara Melikian finished a dispute with the tournament staff after being issued a one-round penalty for exposing his hand with action pending.
Three different floor staff ruled that Melikian would have a one-round penalty despite only having 51,500 in chips left in his stack. The staff explained to Melikian that one can't take into account the size of a player's stack when making a ruling. Melikian, upset with the ruling, requested to escalate things to Jack Effel for an appeal.
Effel came over, heard the ruling from the floor staff, the situation recalled from the dealer, and Melikian's appeal, but ultimately ruled the same as his colleagues that Melikian would receive a one-round penalty for exposing his cards with action pending.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
51,500
-46,000
|
-46,000 |