{"id":15097,"date":"2018-10-05T12:23:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T12:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=15097"},"modified":"2018-10-05T20:52:05","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T20:52:05","slug":"does-bobby-baldwins-departure-mean-that-mgm-is-leaving-poker-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/does-bobby-baldwins-departure-mean-that-mgm-is-leaving-poker-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Bobby Baldwin\u2019s Departure Mean That MGM Is Leaving Poker Behind?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobby Baldwin<\/strong> has stood at the center of the poker universe for more than four decades. The 67-year-old poker pro and 1978 World Series of Poker Main Event<\/strong> champion turned casino executive, who championed the game before the boom and beyond it, is now stepping out of it.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, MGM Resorts International<\/strong> announced<\/a> that Baldwin will be leaving the casino and gaming giant later this year. Baldwin is currently Chief Customer Development Officer of MGM Resorts and CEO and President of CityCenter<\/strong> in Las Vegas, Nevada<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to an MGM statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cFew have played a more central role in the growth and transformation of the gaming industry than Bobby, and his contributions over more than three decades are immeasurable.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As far as the game of poker is concerned, that ain\u2019t the half of it.<\/p>\n

A poker player first<\/h2>\n

The Tulsa, Oklahoma native first stepped into the poker spotlight when it was anything but bright. He won two bracelet events at the 1977 WSOP<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A year later, he won the 1978 WSOP Main Event<\/strong>. Back then, it came with the title of World Champion, but just a $210,000 first-place prize. At 28 years old, Baldwin was the youngest winner in WSOP Main Event history. The record has since been broken.<\/p>\n

In 1979, he won his fourth WSOP bracelet. Three years later his career as casino executive began when Steve Wynn<\/strong> hired him at the Golden Nugget<\/strong> in Downtown Las Vegas. By 1984, Baldwin was Golden Nugget president.<\/p>\n

When Wynn opened\u00a0Mirage<\/strong> in 1989, Baldwin was its first president, and the property soon began hosting the biggest poker games in the world. In fact, in the legendary 1998 poker film Rounders, actor Matt Damon\u2019s character correctly referred to the property as the center of the poker universe<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe poker room at the Mirage in Vegas is the center of the poker universe. Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, the legends consider it their office. Every couple of days a new millionaire shows up wanting to beat a world champion. Usually they go home with nothing but a story.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A new center of the poker universe<\/h2>\n

The legends moved their office to Bellagio<\/strong> (pictured) after it opened in 1998. Baldwin became Bellagio president and the highest-stakes poker games on the planet moved to Bobby\u2019s Room<\/strong>, a glass-encased salon at the back of the poker room named for Baldwin himself.<\/p>\n

Poker\u2019s popularity boomed in the early 2000s and the poker room at Bellagio became the place to make or break the game\u2019s top players.<\/p>\n

Wynn left Mirage Resorts<\/strong> to start Wynn Resorts<\/strong> and Baldwin became Mirage CEO. When MGM bought the company and it became MGM Mirage<\/strong>, Baldwin took the helm of its new CityCenter project.<\/p>\n

The massive casino resort project opened to the public in 2009 with ARIA Resort & Casino<\/strong> as its focus. ARIA\u2019s poker room launched with a Bobby\u2019s Room of its own, named Ivey\u2019s Room<\/strong>, after top poker pro Phil Ivey. However, the poker room clearly had Baldwin\u2019s signature<\/strong> all over it.<\/p>\n

Nosebleed cash games still play out at Bobby\u2019s Room in Bellagio, but ARIA has become the home for some of the biggest buy-in tournaments in the world. Plus, the ARIA poker room has become the preferred Las Vegas destination for many poker players. In fact, it\u2019s fair to say ARIA now shares the title<\/strong> of center of the poker universe with Bellagio. It\u2019s no stretch to say Baldwin is a big part of the reason why<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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