America grabs a chair at poker's biggest table

By David Leon Moore
USA TODAY

LAS VEGAS — It is after 2 a.m. Tuesday in the giant poker room at the Rio hotel and casino. Two tired players are left at the final table of a big-money event, nerves fraying, the tension thickening, the crowd growing. Then 25-year-old Israeli card shark Rafi Amit, closing in on the kill, utters a crude expletive and all hell breaks loose.

At the World Series of Poker, the world's biggest and most prestigious poker tournament, the penalty for that obscenity is 10 minutes away from the table, and tournament official Jack Effel immediately tells Amit to leave.

The dealing continues, though, and for 10 minutes alternating blocks of $8,000 and $16,000 in chips are raked from Amit's stack and given to his opponent, 38-year-old Vietnamese-born pro Vinny Vinh. An infuriated Amit and his posse mock Vinh and Effel. One of Amit's supporters makes a comment about meeting Vinh in the parking lot. The anger grows, and Effel calls security to bounce two of the spectators. Then he turns to Amit.

"You want another 10 minutes?" he threatens.

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