Thanks for all of the input. It helped me realize a few points.

A. I should chill out and not worry too as much about the blinds he is missing.

B. I need to put a bigger push on recruiting more people. The annual tournament is this weekend and it looks like i have 50-60 people coming, so I'll work extra hard at recruiting.

Last week it was a moot issue as the player in question showed up 15 minutes early. I decided life was too short to bother bringing it up to the group.

Grant

I don't really see a major problem if when he buys in people are still allowed to rebuy. Would it still be a problem if he was a terrible player who showed up a little drunk and spewed his buyin and rebuy before busting out???

I think you could address the slow speed of his play rather than his tardiness. Remind him that it is a friendly night and you dont mind him showing up late since it is a relaxed atmosphere, however since it is so relaxed decisions should be made a little quicker.

I guess it's because it could become a bit of a management issue.

I'm glad it sorted itself out.

Add me to the people saying that there's no reason to penalize blinds. It's not like the blinds others have paid have gone anywhere. They're all still on the table. Everybody could sit out for an hour and a half and everybody would still have starting stacks.

I used to crack down on it and I penalized people who were late. I even once tried to make the late arrivals wait for their BB to start playing, and at this game it took quite a while to get to them. They ended up taking 1st and 2nd place in a MTT. So clearly the penalty didn't matter.

The problem you're having is the greater psychological problem. It's not just the blinds, it's his total disrespect for the game as a whole, and for your policies as host. "It's not a casino." No, but it's your game, and those are your rules. Period. Once you get your numbers up again, consider disinviting him for his behavior as a whole.

I'm also very much against penalties (or a bonus for showing up on time) because it causes people to drive recklessly. I used to give out bonus chips for early arrivals, and players started joking about how dangerously they drove on the bridge to get there. Nope nope nope nope nope. And then I had one regular get extremely pissed off at me because he missed the cutoff by five minutes. Where's the line?

Show up, get a stack. Your penalty is missing all those opportunities to bust other people when the blinds are cheap. For the guy who's short-stacked and whining about the guy showing up late, let him know that he's free to do the same himself, if he thinks missing all those chances at pocket aces constitutes an advantage. People clamor for deeper stacks and longer blind levels so they can get more hands before being short. By his being late, he is sacrificing all the advantages that most people beg to have.