Mikhaylets' Mistake and De Zutter's Angle
Valeriy Mikhaylets just made an honest mistake versus Tino de Zutter from Belgium, but it quickly spun out of control to create some controverse early on Day 1a.
The board read 
when Mikhaylets bet 3,000 using two red and two purple worth 500 each. The action was then on De Zutter who raised it up to 7,000, but his blue 5,000 chip was hidden on the bottom of the bet.
Mikhaylets assumed his opponent had made the call and he tabled his hand, 
, as he had the nut flush.
When the dealer noticed that De Zutter had put in a raise a member of the floor staff was called over.
"It's a fold, he mucked his cards," De Zutter strongly stated, as he was trying to gain as much from this situation as possible.
De Zutter became more and more wound up as the floor staff explained the ruling, but he wasn't willing to accept the following: When a player tables his cards with action pending he will receive a one-round penalty at the completion of the hand, but he'll still be able to make a decision on the current hand.
"That's just not right! He mucked his cards," De Zutter yelled, as he called for a second opinion.
A second opinion was given to De Zutter, which was identical, but he remained angry and in disbelief.
"He did not muck his cards, he tabled them," the floor staff explained.
Mikhaylets, who spoke very little English, kept pointing out why he had made the mistake, as the blue chip was hidden on the bottom. The Russian player also tried to point out that he had the nuts, so he would never table his hand if he had seen that his opponent had put out a raise.
Eventually Mikhaylets made the call, which got players to joke that he should receive two penalties, an additional one for calling with the nuts, while De Zutter sat motionless without mucking his cards.
"Sir," the floor staff firmly said, "This is a showdown and if you are not going to table or muck your cards you will receive a penalty for holding up the game."
Eventually De Zutter tabled 
for a lower flush and Mikhaylets took down this pot. With help from other Russian players at the table it was explained to Mikhaylets that he would be on a one-round penalty, and quietly he left the table to take a little break.