Controversy Before Dinner
![[user68268]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Tom Bedell raised to 11,000 from the hijack seat before Matt Waxman reraised from the button to 26,500. Bedell called and the flop came down 
. Bedell bet 25,500 and Waxman called.
The turn was the 
to pair the board and both players checked. The river completed the board with the 
. Bedell checked and Waxman was thinking. At this point, Waxman grabbed some chips. Whether or not he was going to bet the chips or just shuffle them was unknown, but Bedell folded his hand anyway. Waxman pushed his hand towards the muck after he saw this, but some players argued that he must show the winning hand per World Series of Poker rules.
The dealer pulled Waxman's hand into the muck, but then pulled it back out when others at the table complained. Waxman argued that he hadn't acted yet, so his hand shouldn't be shown. One floor-staff member was summoned and he ruled that Waxman's hand must be tabled, which the dealer briefly did. We didn't grab a glimpse of it before the dealer turned it back over and mucked it because Waxman started to raise his voice in objection. He wanted another floor ruling. That's when another floor-staff member came to the scene.
Before the second floorman could make his ruling, Jack Effel arrived. Waxman was arguing his case and trying to do so above everyone else talking, which caused him to raise his voice. He seemed to lose his cool a tad when the argument wasn't going his way, but it also didn't seem that the tournament staff fully understood exactly what had happened in the hand.
This was not a check-check situation where the winning hand must be tabled, Waxman argued. He stated that if he had bet and Bedell folded, he wouldn't have to show and that the same should apply here. For his arguing, Effel scolded him and issued him a penalty of one hand before he gave his ruling. This made Waxman a bit more upset before he finally said it didn't matter anymore because his hand had already been tabled anyway.
During some of this, Ilan Boujenah, who was at the same table, began getting involved as well and was commenting how the tournament staff has been very rude to players all tournament long, specifically pointing out an unknown situation involving Pierre Neuville earlier in the event. He was pulled aside and spoken to away from the table in private before returning to take his seat and calming down.
While taking his penalty, Waxman talked about the issue with Effel off to the side and in private. While this was happening, Tony G was telling the players and the floorman still at the table that he heard Waxman say check and even saw him slightly tap his cards, but after Bedell had folded. Waxman soon returned to his table, post-penalty, before finishing play before the dinner break.