diff --git a/game/runner.py b/game/runner.py
index c30685e4e7..a8327a7328 100644
--- a/game/runner.py
+++ b/game/runner.py
@@ -160,19 +160,7 @@ def start_services(server_argv, portal_argv):
             return
         queue.put(("portal_stopped", rc)) # this signals the controller that the program finished
 
-    try:
-        if server_argv:
-            # start server as a reloadable thread
-            SERVER = thread.start_new_thread(server_waiter, (processes, ))
-    except IOError, e:
-        print "Server IOError: %s\nA possible explanation for this is that 'twistd' is not found." % e
-        return
-
     if portal_argv:
-        if is_pypy:
-            # This is a hack; without it, the *server* stalls out and never finishes loading under PyPy.
-            time.sleep(1)
-
         try:
             if get_restart_mode(PORTAL_RESTART) == "True":
                 # start portal as interactive, reloadable thread
@@ -180,13 +168,19 @@ def start_services(server_argv, portal_argv):
             else:
                 # normal operation: start portal as a daemon; we don't care to monitor it for restart
                 PORTAL = Popen(portal_argv)
-                if not SERVER:
-                    # if portal is daemon and no server is running, we have no reason to continue to the loop.
-                    return
+
         except IOError, e:
             print "Portal IOError: %s\nA possible explanation for this is that 'twistd' is not found." % e
             return
 
+    try:
+        if server_argv:
+            # start server as a reloadable thread
+            SERVER = thread.start_new_thread(server_waiter, (processes, ))
+    except IOError, e:
+        print "Server IOError: %s\nA possible explanation for this is that 'twistd' is not found." % e
+        return
+
     # Reload loop
     while True: