Daniel Neilson Responds to Dealer Error at WSOP Paradise that Cost Him $116K in Equity
Table Of Contents
While the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise proved to be a success, an unfortunate situation has come to light regarding an error at the final table of the $5,300 Main Event. PokerMedia Australia has reported that during three-handed play, Australian poker pro Daniel Neilson paid an extra 10 million in chips after losing a big all-in pot to eventual champ Stanislav Zegal.
A dealer error resulted in an incorrect count – 48 million as opposed to 38 million – and ultimately left Neilson with 5.2 million in chips instead of 15.2 million. He would be eliminated a short time later. The error wasn’t caught by officials and subsequently resulted in the wrong counts on the live stream, which when reviewed confirmed the error had taken place.
“The official position in any tournament is that if action was accepted by all parties there would be no recourse once tournament play has concluded."
“The official position in any tournament is that if action was accepted by all parties there would be no recourse once tournament play has concluded,” WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart told PokerMedia Australia. “Any corrective action would need to take place while the player remains in the event. We do not, nor does any operator in the world that I’m aware, retroactively award ICM value or any monetary compensation in such situations. We are thoroughly reviewing the matter.”
Neilson, who had started the final table as the chip leader, busted in third place for $900,000 while Zegal went on to win it for $2,000,000 and a gold bracelet.
The Hand
The dealer error occurred in Level 37 (500,000/1,000,000/1,000,000) when Zegal opened to 2 million on the button and Neilson three-bet to 7.5 million in the small blind. Zegal called.
Neilson continued for 8.5 million on the flop of Q♥K♥5♦ as Zegal called. Neilson then bet 38 million on the 9♦ turn to put Zegal all in and he quickly called.
Stanislav Zegal: K♣Q♣
Daniel Neilson: A♠K♦
Neilson had been out-flopped and couldn't improve as the 10♣ river bricked off to earn Zegal a major double. Unfortunately, as the dealer counted the stack they misinterpreted the amount as 48 million, an error that went uncaught.
The hand in question can be viewed in the final table replay starting at the 2:58:04 mark:
Neilson Responds to Situation
PokerNews reached out to Neilson, who calculated the error cost him approximately $116,000 in equity, who shared the following statement regarding the situation:
“I don’t really know what to say, obviously it’s a shitty situation and I’m disappointed. At the time it happened, when she said the amount, I questioned it as I was really sure he had 37 or 38 million, but the dealer confirmed it, I assumed she was correct, and I made a mistake, I should have double checked, but I assumed being the final three of the WSOP Paradise Main Event, with all the cameras, and the dealer was confirming bet sizes with the stream crew via earpiece, I just didn’t think it was possible for them to make a mistake this big.
“For all the other all-ins a supervisor was double-checking the counts. I have no idea why they didn’t for this one, the biggest pot of the entire tournament. In general, the dealers were great, and I didn’t notice this dealer make any other mistakes. I don’t think I’ve ever complained about a dealer before; however, I did find it surprising they used a local Bahamian dealer who was very inexperienced twice for the final table. It’s not his fault as he shouldn’t have been put in the situation, but he was making many errors and announced the wrong bet size nearly every time.
“I understand that when something like this happens not much can be done, but I think being three-handed of the WSOP [Paradise] Main Event they really should have more procedures in place to make sure something like this doesn’t happen. It cost me an enormous opportunity to win a Main Event and bracelet. On top of that, after the hand the stream was showing the incorrect amount of chips I had for future hands, it made my play look horrible, the commentators even commented that my cards must be wrong as they can’t believe I would play like that. I’ve received over 100 messages asking WTF I was doing. I’m hoping they can do something to make the situation right.”
It is unlikely Neilson will receive any monetary compensation, but if the WSOP is indeed conducting an investigation, they will no doubt examine the procedures in place and what they might be able to do to ensure such an error doesn't happen again in the future.
