[youtalkfunny]

[ QUOTE ]
Dealer should always muck folded hands instantly. There is no other acceptable procedure.

[/ QUOTE ]

In a perfect world, sure. But let's look at this from the dealer's perspective:

First player turns up AK. Dealer is trying to figure out how the hell AK fits with this board. It doesn't, of course, but the dealer has to take a couple of seconds to come to this realization.

Now the next two players have turned up AQ. Well, since they didn't muck them, they must think they can beat AK. Dealer has to check the board again before he can be sure that the AQ's are no good.

Player D's cards have been lying there face down ever since the AK was tabled. If the dealer had nothing better to do, he would've mucked them by now. Unfortunately, he's been kept busy by a couple of wild goose chases.

And those are just the delays that we know about. There's also a good chance that while he was trying to read all these hands, a player who had no cards was asking him how late the buffet stays open; another player asks how big the jackpot is; and a chip-runner is tapping him on the shoulder to see if he's the one who called for a fill. You, as a player, don't notice these trivial things, but they happen. A lot.

Sorry you lost, OP. Too bad nobody killed the better hand for you.