All of us know such people who are excellent at everything they do. And, a professional poker player Bobby Baldwin is undoubtedly their representative. One of the strongest poker players and WSOP winners in the world also succeeded in being CEO and writing books. His game fellows describe him as a charismatic and a very smart person.
One of the most talented personas in the poker industry, Baldwin, was born in 1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was an ordinary child with a classic picture of childhood and nothing predicted that this boy would become a successful poker player with millions of dollars earned in tournaments.
His first meeting with poker took place when Bobby was just 12. He lost this game and it made him forget about playing poker for some time and switch to pool. Being persistent, ambitious and hard-working in all spheres of his life, Bobby gained great results in the game quite quickly and even started getting money for playing. However, the fortune gave him love to poker back later and he changed his path.
Bobby Baldwin: “Poker is a game where you need to make life-and-death decision”
When Bobby studied at Oklahoma State University, he returned to poker and began spending time on both games: pool and poker. During his student years, he and his friends decided to go to Las Vegas, the gambling capital of America. Probably, this first serious meeting with the poker industry made a 19-year old guy think about his career in this field. The trip to the gambling capital of the US resulted in lots of ups and downs of Bobby Baldwin, Las Vegas took turns being unfair and kind to him.
In his first game, Bobby lost all he had – $5000 – but the guy didn’t want to stop and got a $500-credit to continue playing. He lost the greater part of the money again and then won $38 000! However, it wasn’t the end of this story because later his total winnings were $180 000.
Unlike many other gamblers who went crazy over their money, Bobby turned out to be clever enough to spend them wisely. He was interested in investment and tried to bring money there. Of course, his main expenses were connected with poker. Bobby visited Las Vegas and other cities from time to time. When Baldwin heard that an important game would take part somewhere near him, he was the first to participate in it. Unfortunately, the sum of money that seemed to be big came to the end very quickly – in 3 months – and the player ended up with nothing.
Next Bobby’s years were full of both, achievements and failures. He continued playing poker and participating in various tournaments. The most significant ones are the following:
- WSOP $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event where he got his first bracelet;
- Winning at the WSOP Main Event in 1978;
- $1,000,000 WSOP Big One for One Drop super high roller brought him the 5th place for $1.408 mln.
These events became crucial for Bobby Baldwin. Poker wasn’t only the favorite game but also a big room for career improvement. The player took part in 20 WSOP tournaments estimated at almost $3 mln.
Of course, his gaming experience and winnings gave him a real start in the poker world. Moreover, there is a gaming room in Las Vegas named after him. According to people who often go to the city to play, his room is always full of visitors. Although the buy-in is estimated at $20 000, the player’s name makes it very popular. As for Bobby, sometimes he spends time there as well.
Speaking about online poker, it obviously passed him by. The main reason for this – he started playing the game so many years ago when people didn’t know what virtual games were.
It’s worth mentioning that he wrote his autobiography book back in 1984. It’s entitled “Tales out of Tulsa” and it provides information on a famous player’s early years, first poker games, big and small losses and achievements.
Bobby Baldwin – MGM resorts executive and CEO of Drew Las Vegas
As a realistic and pragmatic person, Baldwin understood that it was necessary to be involved in a business in the modern world. That’s why he tried several leading positions to make a profit not only out of poker tournaments.
One of them is MGM Resorts, the company where a poker star has shown himself as a competent chief customer development officer. MGM Resorts International includes resorts and casinos, so, this sphere is almost familiar to Bobby. However, several years ago, he announced that he was going to quit the job. People from his inner circle said that his decision could be provoked by his injuries. Let us remember that the player has been severely injured while accidentally falling from stairs. Notwithstanding the fact that he left the company, Bobby Baldwin’s salary there was $4 844 077 for the whole period.
Later Baldwin got the opportunity to continue his administrative career and became Drew Las Vegas CEO. Steven Witkoff, Drew Las Vegas developer, noted that Baldwin’s experience could help to promote the project. He also emphasized that Bobby fully supported their strategy and his excellent reputation would come in handy for the company. In his interviews concerning the new appointment, Bobby said that he was excited to start working with the project and he could do much for it.
Bobby Baldwin – net worth and personal life
When it comes to famous people, usually, the most interesting thing to know is how much money they have. The same thing is with poker players. As for Bobby Baldwin’s net worth, it’s approximately $15 mln. We should mention here that he has begun his way with $5000 in his pocket. And he lost this sum in his first game in Las Vegas. Only big love for poker inspired him not to give up, play more and earn money. Now the player is mostly busy with his appointment in Drew Las Vegas.
As for his personal life, Bobby had three marriages and one of them was destined for failure. He met his first love at the high school and they became a couple when Baldwin only started his way as a player. It was difficult for Bobby Baldwin’s wife to live under the conditions players are used to. He didn’t have a lot of money and stability at the beginning of his poker career. His wife felt insecure and often blamed him for this. Such arguments led to their divorce.
The second Mrs. Baldwin’s name was Shirley, she was an ex-model, and Bobby had several happy years with her. She became the mother of his two children – Staci and BJ – but, unfortunately, the woman died at the age of 45 in Las Vegas. The poker star shared a lot of moments connected with Shirley in his autobiography written by Mike Caro. His third marriage was with ex-Miss Nevada Donna McNeil and they were together for 13 years. In 2006, the couple announced that they broke up.
Baldwin is one of the brightest stars in the poker world who has also proved himself to be a successful business and strategic person. Although he is 70, Bobby is still full of energy and enthusiasm to live big.
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