The new Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia continues to move toward an opening in early 2021. When that happens, there will be live poker.

According to a casino representative, the new property will feature a 29-table poker room. No official opening date has been announced as yet.

Live! Philly eyeing mid-January for poker room launch

'In 2005, when the Deerfoot Inn & Casino opened, Remy recruited me to work with him at Deerfoot. So I kind of started as a dealer/cashier, then became houseman, then became tournament director, then assistant poker manager, and then the ownership took over the rights to the Stampede Casino before it became Cowboys. I became the poker manager there. Poker Room Experience Poker in an electrifying atmosphere in our luxurious Poker Room. Always smoke free, our poker room features 46 tables with Wi-Fi throughout and dedicated parking in Draper Place Garage for easy access. If you're a sports fan, then we've got you covered! Welcome to the Cash Casino. Don't forget to check out our food and beverage specials along with casino games and events. Check back often for new specials and upcoming events. Look at our Careers page for opportunities/positions then send your resume to hr@cashcasino.ca.

Earlier today, poker reporter Anthony Cicali tweeted confirmation that Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will have a poker room. Cicali shared a short video showing movers bringing a poker table into the casino and unwrapping it.

According to Cicali’s sources, “They are looking to launch mid-January.”

Confirmed!!! Philly Live will have a poker room .. here’s first look and inside sources tell me they are looking to launch mid January @LiveCasinoPHLpic.twitter.com/KOQk3itSUt

— Anthony F Cicali III (@EataHoagie) December 9, 2020

When asked, “Will you guys have poker, and if, so will it be immediately?” via Instagram, a Live! rep responded:

“We will have a poker room, however with covid restrictions, we won’t know until we open.”

Stampede Casino Poker Room Games

The casino was developed and is owned by The Cordish Companies, which also operates Xfinity Live! Philadelphia. Like other Philadelphia casinos, Xfinity Live! has temporarily closed due to citywide restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

All Philadelphia casinos must remain closed until Jan. 1, 2021, at the earliest, meaning the opening of Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will not happen until the new year.

Located in the South Philadelphia Stadium Entertainment District, Live! Philly will feature 2,200 slot machines and over 125 table games.

While plans move ahead toward the casino’s grand opening, the PlayLive! Online Casino and FanDuel-powered online sportsbook are already up and running.

PA poker rooms return slowly, continue to face challenges

It has been a challenging year for Pennsylvania poker rooms, all of which were forced to close in mid-March due to the pandemic. Casinos began to reopen over the summer, but the poker rooms remained shut down as dictated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)‘s COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols.

It wasn’t until early October that some of the poker rooms began submitting reopening plans to the PGCB.

Five rooms reopened in late October and early November. They included the rooms at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Mount Airy Casino, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh and Rivers Casino Philadelphia.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia opened its poker room as well, although the citywide restrictions forced the casino to close once again on Nov. 20.

Parx Casino in Bensalem plans to reopen the state’s largest poker room on Dec. 15.

The poker rooms at Hollywood Casino, Presque Isle Downs and Wind Creek Casino have all remain shuttered. A representative from Wind Creek informed PlayPennsylvania in late November that the casino had no update to provide regarding when the poker room might reopen.

Meanwhile, one of the closed poker rooms, the WSOP-branded one at Harrah’s Philadelphia, will not be reopening. In August, it became known that Harrah’s intended to close its poker room permanently.

For the latest on PA poker room reopenings and plans, visit our live updates page.

One of the most famous high-stakes poker rooms in the world recently underwent a name change.

The high-stakes area of the Bellagio poker room on the Las Vegas Strip, known to poker fans as “Bobby’s Room,” has been renamed “Legends Room.”

Since its inception, Bobby’s Room has been home to some of the biggest poker games on the planet. The game usually featured a mix with limits of at least $400-$800, but during the World Series of Poker, games are generally much larger, with limits of $1,000-$2,000 and up. At the time of this article’s publishing, there was a $2,500-$5,000 big bet mix game running in the room.

The room was named after 1978 WSOP main event champion Bobby Baldwin. The Oklahoma-native and four-time WSOP bracelet winner stayed in Las Vegas after winning the main event at 28 years old and forged a successful career in the casino industry.

In 1982, Baldwin was hired as a consultant for the Golden Nugget and became president of the property just two years later. Steve Wynn hired him to be the president of The Mirage in 1987 and he was also the Chief Financial Officer of Mirage Resorts, which eventually became MGM Resorts following a merger. He became president of the Bellagio in the late 1990s.

Towards the end of 2018, Baldwin announced he was leaving his position with MGM Resorts as Chief Customer Development Officer of MGM and CEO and President of CityCenter.

About a year ago, it was announced that Baldwin will be the CEO of the Drew Las Vegas, which is scheduled to open in 2022.

As successful as he was in the boardroom, Baldwin was just as successful on the felt. He won two WSOP bracelets in no-limit 2-7 single draw and a seven-card stud title, along with his main event bracelet. His last cash came in 2012 with a seventh-place finish in the $1 million buy-in Big One For One Drop. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2003.

Bellagio originally said that the room would remain in his name, despite his departure from MGM, but that changed last month with the renaming. The move went under the radar as the COVID-19 pandemic, the passing of Mike Sexton, the Doug Polk-Daniel Negreanu heads-up match, and the announcement of a hybrid WSOP in December took most of the poker community’s focus.

Stampede Casino Poker Room Poker

Pour one out for Bobby's room which is now called, 'Legend's room' lol. Is nothing sacred anymore pic.twitter.com/wMDW1IL37c

— Nick Schulman (@NickSchulman) November 25, 2020

The fuck it has. I’m absolutely not gonna start calling it the legends room.

— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) November 25, 2020

Cowboy Casino Poker Room

Shoulda named it Doyle's Vault.

— Salty (@msalsberg) November 25, 2020

In 2010, as Aria’s poker room gained popularity among the high-stakes community, the fellow MGM-owned property debuted its high-stakes area, which was named after poker legend Phil Ivey. “Ivey’s Room” tended to attract the highest-stakes no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha games, while limit mixed games stayed at Bellagio.

Stampede Casino Poker Rooms

Ivey’s Room was later changed to “Table 1” in February 2019. Aria’s decision came shortly after a federal judge gave Borgata Hotel and Casino approval to go after Ivey’s assets in Nevada to collect the $10.16 million he owed the casino from a lawsuit of his infamous baccarat session.

Ivey eventually settled with the MGM-owned Atlantic City casino last July.

• Phil Travisano assisted with this story.