Phil Ivey Enjoying Cash Game Action at the Bellagio

The 48th World Series of Poker is currently around half way through its seven week schedule, but while players are desperately chasing coveted gold bracelets at the Rio, two of the game’s legends are sitting on the sidelines and enjoying some high-stakes cash game action at the Bellagio, instead.
One of them is Doyle Brunson, a 10-times bracelet winner who won back-to-back Main Events in 1976 and 1977, while the other is Phil Ivey, also a 10-times bracelet winner, although about half the age of his 83 year-old compadre. Currently, the two men have been a regular feature at the $2,000/$4,000 cash game being played out at Bobby’s Room, but while Brunson has been avoiding WSOP tournaments because of the demanding schedule placed on someone of his advanced age, poker fans have been wondering why Ivey continues to avoid building on his legacy by shirking the annual showcase Series.
On the positive side, rumor has it that Ivey will likely soon make a rare appearance at the Rio in order to take part in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, along with Gus Hansen, who is also presently enjoying the Bellagio’s high stakes cash action too much to venture across to join the Rio’s bustling tournament scene.
Gus Hansen won his first and only WSOP bracelet back in 2010 at the WSOP Europe £10,350 No Limit Hold’em High Roller Heads-Up event for £288,409. Ivey, on the other hand has been accumulating bracelets since 2000 when he beat Amarillo Slim to claim the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event for $195,000, with his most recent bracelet won in 2014 at the $1,500 Eight Game Mix event for $166,986.
Poker fans are naturally disappointed not to have seen one of the game’s greats in action at the 2017 WSOP thus far, especially as Ivey is expected to be a lock to secure this year’s WSOP Hall of Fame nomination. Nevertheless, since Macau has become a hot bed of high-stakes action, Ivey has been plying his skills half way across the world in Asia, and it must be too good an opportunity to miss for him to now do the same with some familiar faces in Sin City.