the big game at the bellagio...where is it at?

[liveactiononly 0]

this is a simple question that may seem dumb...where is the big game at the bellagio. Do they have a seperate high limit poker room or what. I was in the poker room the other day and saw a little section apart from the others in the back corner but didnt know if that was it or not. I didnt see anyone i would recognize. well thanks

[Mandelbrot 0]

Yep, that room in the back which is raised up is the High Limit poker room.

[kenmears 0]

The one where Doyle and the others play cannot be seen from the main poker room. It is in the back behind closed doors. That elevated part in the back is higher limits, but not the limits Danny talks about.

[WhiskyRiver 0]

I was in two weeks ago and both Phil Ivey and Jennifer Harman were playing up there, far back corner. Since no one can really rail-watch these games, are you sure the games Daniel jumps into aren't these ones?

[doublesuited 0]

The one where Doyle and the others play cannot be seen from the main poker room. It is in the back behind closed doors. That elevated part in the back is higher limits, but not the limits Danny talks about.

not true. usually the back corner table is where the big game is. When Andy is in town, the 25k/50k game is up there as well

[blackjak 0]

I saw the professor and Gustav Hansen in the elevated room when I was there last summer. I think that's the room.

[GoBucksIndy 0]

"When Andy is in town, the 25k/50k game is up there as well"Who is Andy?

[The Canadian 0]

"When Andy is in town, the 25k/50k game is up there as well"Who is Andy?

Texas billionaire and noted whale Andy Beal. The pros fall all over themselves to get into a game with him because he's not very good and has tons of money to burn.Card Player had a back and forth exchange between Beal and Doyle a couple of months back. Seems Beal wasn't happy about being disparaged in print by the pros, and challenged them to a game in Texas for super-high stakes.

[justblaze 0]

"When Andy is in town, the 25k/50k game is up there as well"Who is Andy?

Texas billionaire and noted whale Andy Beal. The pros fall all over themselves to get into a game with him because he's not very good and has tons of money to burn.Card Player had a back and forth exchange between Beal and Doyle a couple of months back. Seems Beal wasn't happy about being disparaged in print by the pros, and challenged them to a game in Texas for super-high stakes.

Well, in the interest of good information, Andy is not a 'noted whale'. Pros do not fall over themselves to get into his game. They struggle to raise the money required to even sit down with him. Andy showed up in Vegas asking to play for higher stakes than anyone had ever contemplated before. He wanted to play 100k 200k (not 25k 50k). The 'name pros' obviously wanted to play this guy, but there were 2 problems. Firstly, not one of them with the exception, possibly, of Brunson could get the roll together to play those kinds of stakes. Just to give you an idea, you are looking at about $100 million in order to minimize risk of ruin. A consortium of pros, calling themselves The Corporation, pooled together funds, and created a bankroll. This solved the bankroll problem. The second problem was that Andy knew he would get murdered playing a full game with these guys, and so made a stipulation that he would only play heads up. The Corp would pick one from their ranks to play him at a time, often switching in the middle of sessions. Andy, of course, would go for hours on end, often playing for 12 to 24 hours at a time. Andy is extremely intelligent, and a VERY good heads up limit player. He's not the best in the world, but he would clobber you or I, and has the means to do so. He has also proven himself to be better at heads up limit play than some of the so called pros, notably jonny chan (Chan's best game is definitely not HU limit). He was looking for the ultimate challenge, at stakes that would mean something to him. He is definitely an overall loser in the game, but reports of his losses are wildly exaggerated. Over the course of a few years, it is estimated by those who would know that he has lost maybe $4 million, which is about as good as even in relation to the stakes. Down 20 big bets against a consortium of the best players in the world over hundreds of hours is pretty darn good. The recent flame up in card player was with regard to the exaggerated reports of his losses, and several uninformed idiots calling him a whale in national media outlets, such as you have. Andy was not looking for fame, and went to great length to keep the game and its details very secretive. Bellagio employees were terminated for disclosing details on forums. Due to these morons running their mouths, Andy now refuses to play in Vegas. He has challenged the Corp. to play him in Texas, with an additional set of stipulations and raised stakes with a no quit bond, but so far they have evasively refused.

[dna4ever 2]

justblaze summed it up great ... Here is the actual letter Andy Beal wrote to Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Chau Giang, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Gus Hansen, Lee Salem, John Hennigan, Ming La, Lyle Berman, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Hamid Dastmalchi challenging them to a 4 hour 100,000-200,00 limit session until 1 goes broke or cries uncle.www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/showarticle.php?a_id=14268

[GoBucksIndy 0]

Could you post the text of that letter. The work filter won't let me open the link.Thanks

[dna4ever 2]

Could you post the text of that letter. The work filter won't let me open the link.Thanks

Sure .....From The Desk Of Andy Beal Dallas, TexasDate: September 2004To: Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Chau Giang, Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Gus Hansen, Lee Salem, John Hennigan, Ming La, Lyle Berman, Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Hamid DastmalchiI recently read a story in the New York Daily News that is an unfair mischaracterization of my recent poker experience in the "Big Game" played at Bellagio.No mention was made that I won more than $10 million in the largest game ever played, $100,000-$200,000 limit hold'em, on May 12 and 13, 2004. No mention was made of the fact that most of the above-mentioned professional players have substantial overall individual net losses after having played many hours against me. I concede that I am a net overall loser in the Bellagio games, although the extent of my losses is often exaggerated and mischaracterized.These stories have become like fishermen's tales, in which the fish is always getting bigger every time the story is told. I spent four years learning the game from the best. Does it surprise anyone that I was an overall net loser during that period? Now, you want to reduce the stakes and refuse to continue to play at the previous betting limits. Does it surprise anyone that I have little interest in traveling to play in smaller games? My interest has always been the intellectual challenge of competing with the best, in games in which the amount bet is material to the people involved. I have played the best in the largest game ever played, and I won. I had a great time and a wonderful experience, but I have little interest in continuing to play the game, because of the time commitment and travel required to maintain excellence.Call me naïve (I've been called worse), but I believe that I am the favorite in a heads-up limit high-stakes game against most of you. For the record, I challenge you to put up or shut up about your "professional play." Come to Dallas and play me for four hours a day and I will play until one of us runs out of money or cries uncle. If your play is so great and your wins have been as large as you claim, you should have plenty of bankroll and be jumping at the chance to come and play another $100,000-$200,000 game and win a lot more money. I should add that you can bring your own independent dealers and your own cards, and can play in a different location of your choice every day if you wish. You should provide a slate of any six or more of the above players and I will pick from your slate who plays. Observers should be free to attend in order to record exactly what happens at this game, so it won't turn into another fisherman's story.My money says you will decline, and that says it all. If you accept, the resulting game will say it all. Either way, I will get to stop reading fishermen's stories.Andy BealP.S. This challenge is for now (starting September 2004), not weeks, months, or years from now.

[justblaze 0]

doyle wrote a response, but i cant be bothered to find the link. Just google for it.

[GoBucksIndy 0]

Thanks!That is very interesting. I would be very suprised to see any of them or a group of them take him up on that offer. A 50 million dollar bank roll could go fairly quickly with those stakes and although I believe the pros would win over time, anything can happen over a few sessions.

[GoBucksIndy 0]

"doyle wrote a response, but i cant be bothered to find the link. Just google for it."If anyone finds this and posts the text it would be appreciated.Thanks

[KramitDaToad 0]

"doyle wrote a response, but i cant be bothered to find the link. Just google for it."If anyone finds this and posts the text it would be appreciated.Thanks

From The Desk Of Doyle Brunson Las Vegas, Nevada Date: October 2004To: Andy Beal I'm very surprised at the hostile tone in which you wrote this open letter to us. It doesn't reflect the true character of the man all of us have learned to respect and admire. While I haven't talked to everyone concerned in this, I believe I speak for most.First, I would like to apologize for any "fishermen's tales" that have been told. I know you are aware of the concern we have always had about discussing our game with anyone. I think you are aware of the way the media can distort anything they write about. I personally called you about the two writers wanting to write books on "the big game." After you had me give them your number, it appeared you weren't concerned with privacy any longer. You even wanted one of the writers to be an observer the next time we played.As far as your challenge goes, we concede that you have more money than all of us put together. So, why would we want to get into a $100,000-$200,000 game in which we would be underfunded? We are pros, and we know the disadvantage of this. So, here is what we propose:1. We will raise a $40 million bankroll and post it along with yours. (Everything is contingent on raising the money, but I think it is very realistic that we can expand and raise it.)2. We will play 30K-60K. If either side loses half of its post-up money, it can raise the stakes to $50,000-$100,000. There is an old axiom that applies here: Get out the way you got in!3. We will choose who plays and when.4. We prefer to play in Vegas, the gambling capital of the world. Most of us live here, and what would we do in Dallas when we weren't playing? This is negotiable. The first three points aren't.Andy, I'm chuckling as I write this closing paragraph. If Bill Gates came to Dallas and wanted to flip coins for $100 million per flip for four hours a day until one of you ran out of money or cried uncle, would you do it? My money says you would decline.Respectfully,Doyle Brunson

[GoBucksIndy 0]

Thanks for the post.Very classy response from Doyle.

[Bluff24__7 0]

if this guy is worth billions then he is already at a huge advantage............he should go and play with bill gates

[GoBucksIndy 0]

"he should go and play with bill gates"I heard Bill Gates plays 5 dollar BJ when he goes to the casino.

[snowmannn 0]

Is Andy Beal "the Banker?"Because I was playing on Full Tilt Poker and sitting with Lederer, and an observer kept asking him questions, and one was "what was your biggest losing session?" And his response was something like "I lost 10 million to "the Banker" but it wasn't all my money." So I'm thinking he is referring to the Confederation and Beal?

[justblaze 0]

Yes, Beal is "the banker". and gates has also been spotted playing 3-6 holdem, and politely refusing offers from just about every high limit player to sit down with them.

[The Canadian 0]

That's what happens when you listen to the uninformed media morons without doing some more background research.My bad.

[jayistheman 0]

ive also read about a session where lederer won 10 million vs. beal. im guessing it is just one super violent swing... it appears as though both parties are experienced and professional enough to withstand the swings, thus making for a relatively close contest in the long run

[elkang 0]

"he should go and play with bill gates"I heard Bill Gates plays 5 dollar BJ when he goes to the casino.

He plays 3/6 limit poker (also?) at the Mirage and Bellagio. I can't attest to any blackjack stories. He used to make some money this way during his younger years. He kept getting offers to join the big game, but apparently Bill plays to win and chooses the game that is right for him.

[jayistheman 0]

ive heard the $5 blackjack story as well. i cant remember where, but it seemed reputable. i think it was the travel channel or something.