Fri, 01/28/2011 – 05:17 – PokerPages Staff

Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson have spoken of their dismay at the decline in the high stakes poker cash game action on offer in Las Vegas.

The legendary duo were regulars on the scene that was thriving with big game action on a regular basis only a few years ago.

However, Ivey admitted that those days are in the past in an interview earlier this week.
 
“There are still games in Vegas. Just not as many as there used to be. Four or five years ago you could count on there being a game four or five nights a week. Now there’s probably a game one or two nights.”

The ‘Big Game’ was the most popular high stakes game on offer. Elite players would buy in for around $200,000 before playing stakes up to $4,000/$8,000.

Phil Ivey believes the death of Chip Reese, who was considered to be the heart and soul of the scene, signaled an end to the scene.

“Once Chip Reese died it was pretty much over. There is really no big game [in Las Vegas] anymore, except for during the World Series or when a tournament is in town or something like that.”

77 year-old Doyle Brunson admitted on his latest blog that his home town is not the ideal place to play live poker anymore.

Brunson attributed the change to the rise of internet poker, tournaments being held worldwide and the current state of the economy.