Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio, Las Vegas is no more. The management team at the Bellagio has renamed the legendary VIP room Legends Room.
The room is famous around the world because of the number of superstars having played there. It is a regular haunt for the likes of Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Patrik Antoinus, and Tom Dwan. Such luminaries as Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey, and even Doug Polk have frequented Bobby’s Room.
Limit games command buy-ins of at least $800/$1,600 while no-limit and pot-limit blinds up to $500/$1,000 or more are commonplace.
Bobby’s Room was the venue for the famous ultra high-stakes battle between Andy Beal and “The Corporation.” Beal is a billionaire poker love who issued a cash game challenge to a series of heads-up matches.
Beal and a group of top poker players played Fixed Limit Hold’em with $10,000/$20,000 blinds. Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson and Howard Lederer were part of The Corporation David Grey, the late Chip Reese, Gus Hansen, Barry Greenstein, and Phil Ivey also competed.
The billionaire won $10 million of The Corporation’s money from those Bobby’s Room battle. He won this over the course of three years. The Corporation pooled their bankrolls together to continue to fight and Ivey went on to win $16 million in two days! Beal quit poker for good after that demoralizing defeat.
Other Famous Bobby’s Room Clashes
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is a common phrase and it applies to Bobby’s Room. Millions of dollars are won and lost there and the room is shrouded in mystery. Little, if any, news comes from Bobby’s Room because the games there are invite-only.
Gus Hansen’s massive poker grind in 2018 was one story coming out of Bobby’s Room. “The Great Dane” racked up 652 hours playing time over 70 days in August 2018. Hansen infamously lost $17 million playing online poker cash games. He didn’t reveal if he finished his marathon grind in profit.
Hansen locked horns with Phil Galfond, Jason Mercier, and Daniel “Jungleman” Cates. Hardly easy opponents!
Patrik Antonius posted on Instagram he’s lost $500,000 playing $5,000/$10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo. Bobby’s Room was bustling with high stakes action.
Why Has The Bellagio Renamed the Room?
The Bellagio put Bobby Baldwin’s name on Bobby’s Room many years ago. Baldwin won the 1978 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event aged 28. He was the youngest Main Event champion at the time.
Baldwin has four WSOP bracelets to his name, but always preferred cash games.
He acted as a consultant for poker rooms during the 1980s, first the Golden Nugget then The Mirage. Baldwin became president of the Bellagio in 1998.
Several more roles in the casino industry followed, including being the CFO of Mirage Resorts. He later became the CEO in 2000.
Baldwin left his position of Chief Customer Development Officer of MGM Resorts in October 2018. It was a strange time and one that saw rumors circulating. The company hardly said anything in its statement and Baldwin was silent, too. Rumors Baldwin was forced out and didn’t leave on his own accord are still rife.
Do Other Poker Players Have Their Own Room?
Several other poker stars have had poker rooms named after them. Bobby’s Room regular Phil Ivey had a room named after him at Aria. Aria recently renamed Ivey’s Room to Table 1. Ivey’s personal problems blighted his reputation around the time of the name change.
Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) casino in the United Kingdom has a named high stakes room. Trickett’s Room is named after the British poker star Sam Trickett. Trickett was a regular in DTD’s cash games and tournament before his meteoric rise to stardom.
It is an honor for players to have rooms named after them but it is only a name after all. People will likely continue to call Legends Room Bobby’s Room regardless of the name change.
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Matthew Pitt
If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.