Born in Bobby's Room
When the Bellagio opened in Las Vegas in 1998, its general manager was Bobby Baldwin, the 1978 World Series of Poker champion. He made sure the casino had a room for the highest stakes in the world. The room became known as Bobby's Room, and for more than twenty years it was the centre of the poker universe.
The late Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker, called it "The Office." Night after night, the table was a who's who of the game: Doyle, Chip Reese, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen and many more. Limits of $800/$1,600 were normal and $4,000/$8,000 was not unusual.
The Big Game was never just hold'em. It started out as a rotation of the classic limit games: Stud, Razz, Stud Hi-Lo, Limit Hold'em and Omaha Hi-Lo. Over the years it kept growing. There was no "real" committee behind it. Players added a game when the table wanted one and kept it if the action was good. The big-bet games came in, then the draw games, then the "super" versions of the stud games, built for even more action. What came out the other end wasn't designed by any one person. It was built by the best players in the world, one game at a time.
Some of the biggest names at Phenom have battled at that table. Brian Rast, a three-time winner of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the toughest mixed-game title at the World Series, was a regular in the Big Game.
Daniel "Jungleman" Cates played in the nosebleed mixed games, battling with Lyle and Gus at the highest stakes. Huck Seed, the 1996 WSOP Main Event champion, has been a regular in the room for years. And Viktor "Isildur1" Blom, the Swedish prodigy who took over online high-stakes poker in 2009, took his seat in Bobby's Room too.
Thirteen games, one table
The Bellagio Mix is our tribute to that table. It rotates through 13 games covering every corner of poker. If you have a weak spot, the mix will find it.
The flop games
- Limit Holdem
- Limit Omaha 8/b
The stud games
- Seven Card Stud
- Stud 8/b
- 2-7 Razz
- PL Super Stud 8/b - Capped (new)
The draw games
- 2-7 Triple Draw
- PL 2-7 Triple Draw - Capped (new)
- Badugi
The big-bet games
- No Limit Holdem - Capped
- PLO - Capped
- Big O - Capped
- NL 2-7 Single Draw - Capped
Look closely and you can see the history of the Big Game in that list. The classic limit games are still at its heart. The big-bet games are there, and so is the lowball draw family. The two newcomers take familiar games and turn up the heat. PL Super Stud 8/b brings pot-limit betting to split-pot stud, and PL 2-7 Triple Draw does the same for the lowball game players already love. It's the same test the legends faced: can you play every game, not just one?
Every day on Hot Tables
For the first weeks, from 25/9 to 30/11, the Bellagio Mix runs on Hot Tables every day from 10am to 2pm Pacific Time (5pm–9pm UTC). Starting times may change in the future.
Take your seat
PL Super Stud 8/b, PL 2-7 Triple Draw and the Bellagio Mix are live now. Pull up a seat at the most storied game in poker. No private jet required.
