Phil Ivey: Side Bets on the Main Event?

Phil Ivey has arguably been the biggest story of this year’s World Series of Poker. There’s the two bracelets he’s already won in the 2009 WSOP. There are the sidebets he won for picking up those bracelets (no amount confirmed, but various sources have put the number as high as $12 million for Ivey).

That would be sufficient for most people. Phil Ivey is not most people.

Now he’s making a deep run in the Main Event, and there’s increasing speculation that Ivey may have even more side money riding on his ability to final table or win the tournament. Obviously, these bets would be long shots, so Ivey is probably looking at some pretty sweet paydays if he gets there.

Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan confirmed on 2+2 and ESPN.com that he’ll owe Ivey around a million dollars if Ivey wins the Main Event. In a thread on 2+2, posted chat from Mike Matusow suggests that Andy Bloch could lose up to 2.5 million if Ivey takes it down.

It’s hard to say whether that’s the tip of the iceberg or the base, but either way, it seems safe to assume that while most of the remaining players are eyeballing a potential prize of $8.5 million, Ivey is playing for a prize worth several millions more.

Phil Ivey plays at Full Tilt Poker. If you’re thinking about signing up at Full Tilt Poker, don’t create an account until you read this.