Second-class Poker?

LAS VEGAS–They\’re coloring up the green chips now in the Ladies event … and should be right at the bubble with 130ish players left. But for some unknown reason, only 99 of this 1,286-player field will get paid. Michele is at 31k, similar to Barbara Enright Susie Isaacs, who is also at her table. [NOTE: Husbands do not make the best reporters.] This puts them both at about 15th in chips — pretty much the bottom of the top. Below that, everyone else is pretty short … and getting desperate.

For the longest time, the ladies were not given a clock telling them how much time is left or giving them the necessary info to calculate the average stack. A few Gen-X babes were talking about lodging a formal complaint if the situation wasn\’t fixed. But Susie Isaacs, being the grand dame of poker she is, reportedly took care of the matter with floor personnel before it got to that … and the big-screen clock was up and running with about 140 players left.

UPDATE: 130 left, Michele is 8th in chips, and the Ladies event clock is not running anymore. (But all floor people supposedly have synchronized handheld timing devices.)

\'carpenter1.JPG\'UPDATE UPDATE: Pokerati friend Suzanne Carpenter just busted out. She got crippled when her Kings lost to \”that [beyotch] who keeps getting queens.\” The generally jovial Suzanne (right) is not a happy camper right now, having played all day and night to finish 122nd. \”It really sucks to be in the top 10 percent and not get paid, you know?\”

UPDATE and ANSWER: Michele has lost half her stack … she\’s got about 15k with blinds at 600/1200 + 100. The reason this tourney payout structure is different than the rest? According to one of the assistant floor supervisors, \”This is a LIPS event, not really a WSOP event. I mean it is a WSOP bracelet. But LIPS sets the structures.\”

POSSIBLE UPDATE: According to her husband, she has at least 24k. Garrr!

115 players left. Again, 99 out of 1,286 get paid.

BETTER ANSWER: According to the floor supervisor, why the payout is less than 10 percent … \”I\’d like to know myself.\” He said it had nothing to do with LIPS, and went on to explain that the 6-handed NLH event also paid out similar to the ladies event. \”So my bullshit answer is that it\’s because it\’s only a $1,000 event — the only one, I think. That\’s my guess … Let me know if you hear anything different.\”