With just 72 players remaining in this year’s WSOP Main Event, one player took the meaning of “tanking” to a new extreme, deliberating for over 15 minutes in an unsuccessful bid to secure a $20,000 pay jump.
On Day 6 of poker’s world championship event, Loren Klein found himself all-in with just one chip behind, and was allowed to stall for an exceptionally long time before floor staff finally intervened.
Tyler Gaston, the player who contested the pot with Klein, told his opponent he would let him take his time to try to reach the next pay jump as action continued at the other tables. Check out the hand as captured by PokerNews’ Frank Visser below:
Klein Allowed 15 Minutes in the Tank
With 72 players left and a pay jump from $105,000 to $125,000 kicking in at 71st place, Klein raised to 975,000 from the hijack, leaving himself just 25,000 behind, the smallest chip denomination in play. Gaston called from the small blind and told his opponent, “I will let you stall for the pay jump.” Klein replied, “I appreciate that.”
Gaston then put in a bet before the dealer fanned a 7♥A♥6♥ flop, moving his opponent all in. Klein didn’t act for a long stretch, and none of the players at the table called for a clock. After a full 15 minutes had passed, a floor official approached to inform Klein he had one more minute to act. When that minute expired, he was given a five-second countdown, and with just seconds to spare, Klein finally tossed in his last chip.
“I will let you stall for the pay jump.”
Klein was all-in for his tournament life holding K♣4♥, while Gaston held a commanding A♣6♦.
Klein failed to hit a heart on the 2♠ turn, and the 6♣ river gave Gaston a full house. After a hand that stretched nearly 20 minutes, Klein said goodbye to his former tablemates, exiting in 72nd place and missing out on the pay jump he’d fought so hard for.
Shades of Ike Haxton in the 2025 WSOP Main Event
Tanking for a pay jump is nothing new in poker, and especially not in the WSOP Main Event. Just last year, Ike Haxton found himself in a similar spot, though on that occasion it took only 6 minutes for the clock to be called.
That time, it wasn’t Haxton’s own tablemates who made the call, but a player at a separate table. Haxton had repeatedly told his table, “Feel free to call the clock on me when you think it’s been enough time,” before eventually being eliminated in 99th place, also missing out on a pay jump, just like Klein.
According to the Tournament Director’s Association (TDA) General Concepts, Section 29 states:
Calling for a Clock – Players should act in a timely manner to maintain a reasonable pace of the game. If in TD’s judgment reasonable time has passed, they may call the clock or approve a clock request by any player in the event.
While Yuchen Chen, seated at a different table, called the clock on Haxton last year, no one called the clock on Klein this time around, either at his table or elsewhere in the room. As a result, WSOP floor staff had to step in themselves once 15 minutes had passed and the length of the tank had become unreasonable.
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Eliot Thomas
Editor, Poker & Casino