Controversy at Table 2 for Jeff Papola

There was a hubbub at Table 2 with several floorpeople weighing in on a decision before Borgata Tournament Director Tab Duchateau came over to give the final ruling.

On a river with three clubs on the board, a player bets 5,000, Jeff Papola raises to 20,000, and his opponent calls. Papola turns over [Ac5c] for the nut flush to win the pot. That’s when things got messy.

Papola’s opponent apparently paid off the bet by tossing in an incorrect amount, and when the dealer started pushing the pot toward Papola, he put out his hand to separate his opponent’s chips because the amount wasn’t correct.

This really upset his opponent, who didn’t like anyone touching his chips. What happened next is a bit unclear, but when all the floorpeople were weighing in, Papola’s bet of 20,000 was only matched by 10,000 from his opponent.

His opponent seemed to be claiming that since Papola pushed back someone else’s chips, they didn’t count toward the pot. (Not sure where that rule is in the TDA rulebook.) He also refused to acknowledge the size of Papola’s raise on the river, saying he said "Call" without knowing the exact amount, and as far as he was concerned, the pot was square.

At one point, when Papola said the other guy still owed him 10,000, his opponent snapped back, "Oh yeah. You owe me 20,000. You’re the one who caught runner-runner." (Papola’s flush came runner-runner on the turn and river.)

Papola defended himself by saying that he only touched his opponent’s chips to preserve the integrity of the pot, and nobody but his opponent contested this. Finally, TD Tab Duchateau said, "What was the final bet on the river?" Two other players confirmed that Papola clearly raised to 20,000, and the other player had only paid off 10,000 of it so far. No other facts were in question — there were no accusations that the pot was wrong in any other way, or who won the pot, or anything else.

Once this was clear, Duchateau ruled that the player had to pay the remaining 10,000, which he tossed toward the dealer. Papola received the pot, and his opponent said, "I’d say nice hand, but it wasn’t."

Papola finally received the pot, which gave him enough chips to be listed among the chipleaders. Less than 15 minutes later, his opponent busted, removing any awkwardness from the table.

Jeff Papola – 93,000
Opponent – Eliminated