On May 21st and 22nd, the Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will debut The Ivey Room, a private high-stakes poker room bearing the name of all-around poker stud Phil Ivey. As part of the festivities, a $1 million invitational freeroll will play out.
An invitation to the event posted on TwoPlusTwo and confirmed by poker room officials read in part, “Aria Resort and Casino, the heart of CityCenter, is revealing our exclusive new high-limit poker room, The Ivey Room. To commemorate this special occasion, you are on the Dean’s List to compete in this prestigious event.” Ivey is a seven-time bracelet winner and made the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. His proficiency in tournaments, cash games, and nearly all poker genres has made him one of the most feared players in the game.
On Friday, May 21st, a cocktail reception and tournament registration will take place in the Deuce Lounge at Aria. The next day, the $1 million invitational will be held and culminate with the winner playing Ivey heads-up for $250,000. Second place takes home a $70,000 cash prize, third place pockets $40,000, fourth place banks $35,000, fifth place will earn $25,000, sixth place will make $15,000, seventh place will boost their bankroll by $10,000, and the eighth place finisher will cash for $5,000.
The showdown between Ivey and the tournament’s winner for $250,000 will take place in The Ivey Room immediately following play. As added bonuses during the freeroll, Ivey will have a $100,000 bounty and another $200,000 will be placed on other players’ heads.
Knocking out Ivey requires busting the person who many consider to be poker’s top all-around player. Ivey owns seven WSOP bracelets, tied for the sixth most overall, and is poker’s all-time money leader. His seventh place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event was worth $1.4 million, although he used part of his winnings to buy out of a $1 million vegetarian prop bet with Tom “durrrr” Dwan forged on the felts of “High Stakes Poker.”
MGM Mirage owns Aria and the Bellagio, among other casinos in Las Vegas and around the world. The latter features the high-limit area known as Bobby’s Room, which sits in the rear of the main Bellagio poker room. Bobby’s Room boasts a $20,000 minimum buy-in and features two tables. A bevy of well-known pros can be found battling it out at the Bellagio around-the-clock, including Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Chau Giang, Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu.
Aria boasts a 24-table poker room and spreads games including Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Pot Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw, Badugi, Omaha Eight or Better, and Chinese Poker. Text found on Aria’s website elaborates, “The setting is perfect for enjoying great poker action that is safe, friendly, and smoke-free. The dealers are trained to run the games professionally, while the management team and poker rules are your assurance that our games uphold the highest standards of integrity and fair play.”
The makeup of the invitational tournament’s field is unclear. Aria officials told Poker News Daily that The Ivey Room is currently open to the general public, but is simply dubbed the “high-limit room” for the time being. The Aria Casino poker room opened last December amid much fanfare, with patrons including Guy Laliberte, David Benyamine, Dwan, and Patrik Antonius. A press release about the $1 Million Invitational was due out this week pending approval by MGM Mirage officials.
