[jafeather]

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But to claim the Bill Chen did ANYTHING unacceptable or unethical is simply wrong.

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I'm with you on the unacceptable....if the floor approved it then it was acceptable.

Just because something is acceptable, though, does not make it ethical. It was unethical for Bill Chen to ask for this. I am amazed that the floor said yes. I would imagine Chen fully expected the answer to be no, and was shocked when it was yes. At that point in time, it would have been right for Chen to say that he has reconsidered his request and withdrawl it.

Imagine if this were to be exploited by the rich (professionals and non-professionals alike) at the main event. As soon as day 1 begins they all offer 2 or 3 buy-ins for the other players chips. To the rich, it's like the ME is a rebuy and they take a quick early advantage. To the players that take the offer it's +EV to take a payday of any sort. To the players wihtout the luck of having one of the richies at your table...well by the time you sit with them they have a huge chip advantage and shove the [censored] out of you.

I hope there's more to this story that we're not hearing. If not, I hope the poker world goes out of their way to express their extreme disappointment with Bill Chen. I would also hope that Harrah's fires whoever the hell the floor person was that approved this.