The Excessive Celebration Rule at the World Series of Poker

Posted by James on September 12, 2008

In the 2007 WSOP, the world met Hevad Khan.  He was a loud, boisterous, and overbearing player the worked his way all the way to the final table before eventually being eliminated.  For years there have been players that would do things to try and garner themselves some camera time.  Handstands on chairs, loud outburst after winning a pot, or even a comical routine such as Humberto Brenes and his shark were part of the game. Hevad Khan took things to what was considered the extreme and the one example that seemed to prompt change was his antics when he took a chair and started dancing around with it.  At this point, ESPN told Hevad that enough was enough.  As a result the rule known as the “Hevad Khan rule” was instituted.

The rule states “Excessive celebration through extended theatrics, inappropriate behavior, or physical actions, gestures, or conduct may be subject to penalty. Any player that engages a member of the tournament staff during the celebration or utilizes any property of Harrah’s will be penalized in accordance with Rules No. 31 and/or 51. Harrah’s property includes but is not limited to chairs, tournament tables, and stanchions.”

I was all for this rule when it came out.  When I saw Khan’s antics in 2007, I was embarrassed for our game.  I was happy that something like that was instituted.

Then I went to the 2008 World Series of Poker.

Harrahs has more or less decided that they will enforce this rule with a ZERO TOLERERANCE policy to any type of significant outburst.  If a player shows any amount of high excitement or energy, a Harrah’s floor person is immediately over to the player issuing a warning.  I saw this occur time and time again.  There were some instances where it was warranted.  One example was Day 1b of the Main Event.  A man stood up in his chair after “shuffle up and deal” was announced and clashed a pair of symbols.  A floor man was right there to issue a warning and tell him to keep them put away.  That was an appropriate use of the policy.  Then I saw another example where it was unwarranted.   A player won a big pot on Day 3 of the Main Event.  Day 3 is the day players reached the money.  This guy was in a big pot for either most or his entire stack.  He won the hand and exclaimed “Whoo!  That’s what I’m talking about.”  He wasn’t overly celebrating.  He was loud, but not overly celebrating.  Lon McEachern was standing right there beside me and said that, “The way they are enforcing this is ridiculous.  You have to have some emotion.”

I agree with Lon.  I think that the spirit and the intention of the excessive celebration rule were just.  However, I think that the way Harrahs is enforcing the rule is harmful to the game.  If you don’t understand what I mean, watch the Main Event coverage on ESPN.  You will find the coverage to be bland and somewhat boring compared to the last few years.  To be honest, the Main Event was indeed boring.  Sadly, the cameras at ESPN caught the Main Event the way that it really was.