Bobby Baldwin

An infrequent, yet impressive poker player, Bobby Baldwin owes much of his present day prestige to his 70's career. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Baldwin's talent wasn't realized until 1970. Whilst a scholar of the Oklahoma State University, he would play poker on a casual basis, occasionally frequenting local casinos to dabble in some high-stakes action.

Baldwin scored his first two victories in 1977, playing in both the $10,000 Deuce to 7-Draw and $5,000 Seven Card Stud at the World Series of Poker tournament. He scooped his biggest jackpot at the WSOP World Championship 1978, defeating the hotly tipped Crandall Addington for the $210,000 pot. A mere 28 years of age at the time of the victory, Baldwin set the record as the youngest player to ever rack up a main event win.

By 1979, Bobby Baldwin had become a power player of international repute. As a successive winner of numerous Las Vegas tournaments, he once again entered the World Series, with a view to cashing in again at the Seven Card Stud main table. He cleared once more at the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event, adding a fourth bracelet to his WSOP gold collection. A Super Bowl Poker Tournament later that year allowed Baldwin to stake his claim at the main table, beating his opponents once again for pole position in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event. From 1981-2009, Baldwin made an appearance at the WSOP Main Event table no less than seven times, however, could never quite replicate his early success. The closest he came was in 1981, cashing in at 7th place.

Many state Bobby Baldwin's business developments had a blow-out effect on his poker career. He famously took on the Mirage as CEO in 1987, followed by a promotion to President of the Bellagio in 1998. Following a merger between MGM and Mirage Resorts, Baldwin was called upon once again to head up the entire franchise as CEO, along with the CityCenter developments in 2005. Bobby Baldwin was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2003 and occasionally returns to play in WSOP events.