Hi Riv.

As TD you have wide latitude in making this decision. Some sensible rules would include:

1) Don’t pause for longer than necessary

2) If more than a few minutes, pause all tables simultaneously. Otherwise, if it’s just a hand or too, and a geographically isolated incident, frankly I’d just pause the tables in the immediate area.

3) If the distraction lasts more than a hand or two and you need to pause the entire tournament, then you have latitude as to whether or not to also psuse the blind-raising clock. In general I would favor pausing the clock also, but if the tournament is on a tight timeframe then as TD you have wide latitude there also. Players come facing these unforeseen risks.