As noted in the previous post, Phil Hellmuth was able to have his penalty reversed. The penalty was initial imposed when he consistently berated an opponent during last night’s play, and he was supposed to sit out the first orbit of play today. Not anymore. The official statement on the special exception change was released by the World Series of Poker as follows:

This morning Phil Hellmuth met with Jack Effel, WSOP Tournament Director, Howard Greenbaum, Harrah’s Regional Vice President for Specialty Gaming, and Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the WSOP. Based on that meeting and an official review of the situation, it was decided that the penalty imposed on Mr. Hellmuth at the conclusion of play last night was excessive.

“Warnings and penalties are intended to correct inappropriate behavior and our rulings should be as fair as possible, given the circumstances,” said Pollack. “In this instance, the punishment did not fit the crime.”

“Phil has now been warned and put on notice in a way that he never has been,” Pollack added.