Bobby Baldwin

[FMMonty]

The Guy starts off as one of the best Pro Poker players and is now the President of the Mirage, CEO of the Bellagio etc...

Has anyone got info on how this transformation occurred?

This guy needs a biography written of his life, it would be an awesome read!

[tek]

He has photos of Steve Wynn at an orgy. The question is how has he kept his job years after Steve Wynn sold the Mirage to MGM?

[Rianna]

I do but with respect to Bobby, would prefer not to discuss his personal life online.

He is a brilliant person with a personality to match, no question and a lot of charisma.

I also agree a book on his life would _indeed_ be fascinating...maybe there is another source out there.

[Daliman]

[ QUOTE ]
He has photos of Steve Wynn at an orgy. The question is how has he kept his job years after Steve Wynn sold the Mirage to MGM?

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, I dunno. Mebbe he's GOOD AT HIS JOB?!?

You get zero slack now after that April fools BS.

[tek]

OMG, zero slack? Oh me oh my /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[MichaelC]

[ QUOTE ]
The Guy starts off as one of the best Pro Poker players and is now the President of the Mirage, CEO of the Bellagio etc...

Has anyone got info on how this transformation occurred?

This guy needs a biography written of his life, it would be an awesome read!

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a phenomenal story. In fact, a magazine hired me to do a profile on him, but the MGM Mirage publicity people are gumming up the works.

Very short version:
-Part of the young group of guys who came to Vegas in the early and mid-Seventies, after the wave of Texas poker players from the late Sixties. The "young guys" included Sklansky, Baldwin, Stu Ungar, Eric Drache, Chip Reese, among others.
-By the late Seventies, many top players started running their own rooms, both for the money and to keep the games honest. Drache and Baldwin agreed that if one of them got a room, they'd bring in the other. Steve Wynn hired Eric Drache to run the Golden Nugget room, and Wynn/Drache (not sure which) brought in Baldwin as "poker host" or some similar title.
-Wynn was really impressed with Baldwin. Wynn was a poker player himself (you can see him in one of the really early WSOP videos with a giant cigar, wearing what looks like a confederate soldier's uniform) and had/has a reputation about being really open-minded about where to find talented managers.
-Baldwin got a casino management job at the GN, then kept moving up, eventually running or practically running the place while Wynn occupied himself with building The Mirage.
-Baldwin then moved up the ladder at The Mirage, as Wynn became occupied with still more projects.
-By the time of the merger with MGM Grand, Baldwin was running the Bellagio and was the chief financial officer of Mirage Resorts, the parent company. [My apologies if my chrono is slightly off. I'm not referring to my notes at this moment and the dates overlap a bit on some of these things.]
-He continued to run the Bellagio after the merger and recently got kicked upstairs yet again, into the top tier of MGM Mirage management, a role that will no doubt expand with the MGM/Mandalay merger.
-He's too busy to play poker regularly, but when he sits down, it's usually to play $4000/8000. As Barry Greenstein said on his web site, if we're going to beat him, it better be in the first couple days because after that, he's back on his game and he's really tough after that.

A remarkable story.

Mike

[Aceshigh7]

There is a book about him during his early days, written by Mike Caro.

[Spladle Master]

[ QUOTE ]
This guy needs a biography written of his life, it would be an awesome read!

[/ QUOTE ]

What, you mean like this? (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1580421296/qid=1112431093/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1159340-9459356?v=glance&s=books)

[rerazor]

Anyone wanna speculate about how much money he makes? Is he looked down on by millionaires like Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson for being a "working man"?

[CrazyN8]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone wanna speculate about how much money he makes? Is he looked down on by millionaires like Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson for being a "working man"?

[/ QUOTE ]

More than me and no.

I'm pretty sure everyone is happy in the situation they are in.

[CrazyN8]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This guy needs a biography written of his life, it would be an awesome read!

[/ QUOTE ]

What, you mean like this? (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1580421296/qid=1112431093/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1159340-9459356?v=glance&s=books)

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Beerfund]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone wanna speculate about how much money he makes?

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
More than me

[/ QUOTE ]

Way to go out on a limb.

[KDawgCometh]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone wanna speculate about how much money he makes? Is he looked down on by millionaires like Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson for being a "working man"?

[/ QUOTE ]

doubt it. They are all friends and probably respect the fact that he can make as much as them while getting a steady paycheck

[FMMonty]

Thanks for all the responses.

he nook mentioned in the post by Mike Caro only goes up to Bobbys WSOP, and there is a lot of things that have happened in his life since then and that is what I would love to know about.

Michael Craig, I would love to read the article once it is finished. Anychance you could send it to me? Or tell me where the article is going to be publihsed and when?

Thanks All

Max

[Vee Quiva]

You can check out the MGM annual report to see how much money he makes.

Here's the link. SEC.GOV.Archives (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000095015305000636/p70396prpre14a.htm#013)

Basically its $4 Million plus I'm sure he has a boatload of stock.

[Rianna]

Bobby makes roughly 6 million a year with perks not counting stock options.

[Punker]

There's a book he wrote available somewhere called "Tales out of Tulsa". I'm sure someone can provide a good source to get it.