During the broadcast of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event on ESPN, two incidents have stood out above the rest as potentially breaching what is considered acceptable behavior by players in poker tournaments. Scotty Nguyen’s behavior at the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship involved inebriated play and excessive badgering of casino staff. Phil Hellmuth teed off on Adam “Roothlus” Levy during the Main Event’s featured table for a loose call. Linda Johnson, one of the world’s most well-respected tournament directors, shared her thoughts on the two events with Poker News Daily.
Poker News Daily: Talk about what player codes of conduct the Tournament Directors Association, which you founded, has developed.
Johnson: TDA rule #7 says: “Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of soft play, abuse, or disruptive behavior.” We put this into the rules in order to give Tournament Directors the authority to assess penalties for disruptive behavior.
PND: Describe what the appropriate actions taken towards Scotty Nguyen should have been and why he was in the wrong.
Johnson: Scotty should have been given a warning that he was going to get a penalty if he continued to use abusive language and then he should have been given that penalty. Players should not be allowed to use abusive profanity toward others in the card room. For what it’s worth, I do think that the WSOP will enforce their behavior rules next year.
PND: Were Phil Hellmuth’s actions towards Adam Levy detrimental? If so, why and how would you have handled them?
Johnson: His actions were terrible. There is no reason to berate other players at the table. People will stop playing if they are subject to tirades and embarrassment. I would have given him one warning and then issued a penalty. If he continued, I would have disqualified him.
PND: The 2008 WSOP on ESPN seems to have had quite a few instances of players acting out. Do you agree with that statement and can you speculate as to why that would be?
Johnson: Players realize that they will get television coverage if they make a scene, so it can be a way of getting your face on screen. Yes, there were some players who misbehaved, but considering the large number of players who participated, the number was very low. Most players behaved well.
PND: Television ratings for ESPN have been at their highest since 2006. Does the presence of TV cameras encourage players to behave inappropriately or abnormally in the hopes of standing out from among the thousands of other players?
Johnson: Absolutely, but only a few players take advantage of this.
PND: Do WSOP officials have to walk a fine line between enforcing the rules and providing entertainment that airs on TV? Could this be the reason for some of the slack in enforcement?
Johnson: Definitely. The ratings would be much lower if there was never a “blowup.” It is much more interesting to see a rant than to see players sitting quietly and never getting excited. Tournament Directors must find a balance; however, they should never allow abuse. Giving someone a penalty would also create excitement for viewers.
PND: Give us an example of a time that a player acted similarly to Scotty Nguyen or Phil Hellmuth and how you responded.
Johnson: In our Card Player Cruises tournaments, we have never allowed abusive behavior and the players know it in advance, so it hasn’t been an issue. If you set a high standard of behavioral expectations, players will step up to the plate and adhere. They only act badly if they know they can get away with it.
