As many of you have probably already read, the final table of the first event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit series at Caesars Atlantic City was highlighted by the disqualification of Lesley S. Thornburg. With five players remaining, WSOP officials had enough of his antics, removed his chips from play, and had him physically escorted from the playing area. Congratulations to the WSOP and the officials in charge who made a rule and stuck to it!!!
The $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, which attracted one of the largest fields in the Circuit’s history, was won by Frank Panetta, a 76-year-old former real estate developer. Unfortunately, Mr. Panetta’s victory was overshadowed by the antics of Thornburg. According to a tournament report by the WSOP media director, Thornburg received two warnings for unsportsmanlike behavior during the event’s first day for “a ceaseless display of loud comments and baiting tactics lasting several hours.” It sounds to me like Thornburg has played in a few too many home games that have no regard for rules and sportsmanship. No player should have to put up with this behavior. He probably should have been disqualified long before he reached the final table.
According to the CardPlayer Magazine online article, the fun seemed to really begin when Thornburg ended up all-in against Andy Santiago, who had Thornburg dominated with A-Q versus A-7. A 7 on the flop gave the boisterous Thornburg the chip lead, to the dismay of the remaining players, who were forced to further endure his tactics. When Santiago’s AQ did not improve, he was out of the tournament.
Two hands later, Thornburg made another bonehead play and found himself in a big pot as a heavy underdog again. This time, he called an all-in raise by Edward “Yank” Sullivan, who held pocket sevens. When Thornburg felted pocket fours, the remaining players thought their nightmare might soon be over, but a 4 flopped and knocked Sullivan out of the tournament.
According to the WSOP media director’s report, this is when the nightmare escalated:
Then, all hell broke loose. Literally. Holding onto a perilous chip lead, Thornburg lost self-control and began jamming chips into the pot with reckless abandon. Warned by tournament officials (repeatedly) to stack his chips properly and obey the rules, Thornburg crossed the final demarcation of everyone’s patience when he shoved half of his stack into the pot and then later announced, “all in.” Fed up with the annoying and confusing antics, officials announced Thornburg’s immediate disqualification. Lesley Thornburg, a general contractor from Richmond, Va., earned $19,026 in prize money.
It’s about time somebody stood up and said “enough is enough.” Poker is about winning, there is no doubt about it, but it’s also about sportsmanship and ensuring there is a level playing field for all - Thornburg’s constant taunting and disregard for the rules was a travesty. Not only should he have been disqualified from the tournament, the WSOP, Caesars Atlantic City, and all casinos owned by Caesars should ban Thornburg from all future events.
I hope Thornburg is happy with himself. Not only did he cost himself thousands of dollars (he surely could have coasted to a better finish as the chip leader), but he put another black eye on the poker world with his antics. I hope this disqualification sends a huge message to poker players around the country and the world. Shape up or don’t bother entering the tournament.
I searched for a picture of this moron so I could post it on here for the world to see, but I couldn’t find one. If anybody runs across one, please send it to me.
Until next time,
KC
Stumble it!
Lots of “rocks” being thrown at Lesley Thornburg. Interesting that he was never given a penalty. Other word on the net is that “rent a cop” with designated authority was jealous and simply didn’t like Thornburg; especially didn’t like Thornburg taking everyones chips in such a flamboyant manner. Thornburg made more friends than enemies that day. The loosers didn’t like him but others cheered him on. He was obtaining cheers and reward for outrageous play and never given a single penalty. Punishment went straight to disqualification after it was evident that Thornburg became a favorite to win first place with a tremendous majority of chips lead. I can appreciate Thornburg’s hesitation in complying with request to leave the table and disqualification. Reminds me of a football player running free to carry the ball across the goal line to win in the last seconds of the game when he makes an obscene gesture to the crowd and gets disqualified for it. I wasn’t there but I don’t agree that the punishment received fits the crime? Imagine if you were getting rewarded for flamboyant play and never penalized and then at final table were disqualified instead of getting a penalty. I’m just trying to say something positive in response to all of the negativity going around about the events that took place. I have a feeling that there may be more to come on this subject. I do know that his brother (William Thornburg, Jr.) was not in Atlantic City during the episode but he did head up to Atlantic City after hearing of what happened. William reached spot number 29 in event number 7. It was $500 buy in with 382 entries. It would have been real interesting to have seen him reach the final table as well. He was knocked out with A-6 “all in” from the small blind vs. A-7 in the big blind after flop came A-4-5. He had a substantial chip stack and went for it thinking that the big blind missed the flop. A win there should have carried him to the final table if not very close to it. I am certain that Les Thornburg will see all of this as a learning lesson. He is an incredible poker player and a very good hearted person. He puts on his “poker style” when playing but he is quick to shake hands and give hugs after getting knocked out of tournament play or loosing/winning a hand in a home game. I am witness to it. I am the brother.
Keep up the good work. Your site is appreciated. Give me your email address and I will be glad to send you a picture.
BJ Thornburg
[...] I received a comment to my article Lesley S. Thornburg - Moron Disqualified (Commentary) from somebody claiming to be B. J. Thornburg, the brother of Lesley Thornburg, the person who was [...]
please call me A.S.A.P. xxx-xxx-xxxx
My witnesses are all remaining players on final table who played the entire tourny w/ me.
I have an attorney involved but would love to see the truth printed………ofcourse there is no published truth…that would be incriminating to the world series of poker and the casino
…I am responding to guy or girl named K.C. that posted previous comment calling someone he’s never met a Moron….I wonder if the old saying, “it takes one to know one” applies here?????