Phil Ivey No Show for WSOP 2015

UPDATE: It seems that Mr. Ivey has finally arrived!

Headed to the #OneDrop. Nice to be back in #Vegas and playing at the #WSOPpic.twitter.com/xOVDPFjt6T

— Phil Ivey (philivey) June 28, 2015

Big:When the World Series of Poker Kicked off some four weeks ago, we all expected that Phil Ivey would soon be joining the party. But the first week has gone, and Ivey was nowhere to be seen. And then the second, and then the third...

Although it looked more and more like 10-time bracelet winner would not show up this year, there was still a hope that he would come around for the $50k Players' Championship. After all, it is possibly the most prestigious tournament of the year. Ivey surely wouldn't miss it?

Players' Championship came and gone, Gorodinsky and Jean-Robert Bellande decided the winner, with JRB coming up just short, but Mr. Ivey was not one of the 84 players who took their seats in the event. Somewhat disappointing, considering he is one of the few players with a serious chance to jeopardize WSOP bracelet record currently held by Phil Hellmuth.

Macau games too good to care?

It is a fairly known fact that Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan spend most of their time in Macau nowadays. They were even guests of honor at the opening of the new casino over there just recently, so everything indicates that they are not only guests, but very welcome guests.

Although no one knows for sure, and those who do know don't talk, according to all the rumors and some actual information, the cash games in Macau are super juicy, filled with rich businessmen that don't particularly care if they win or lose, as long as action is good. Seeing how Ivey has always been an action player, he probably fit right in with the rest of them.

It is possible that he is earning so much money in those games that it's just not profitable for him to go to Las Vegas for the Series. But WSOP is not just about money, it is about winning, about bracelets, about proving who is the best, right?

Does Ivey care about fame?

As talented player as he is, Phil Ivey never seemed to concerned about being a recognized face. His fame simply came as a consequence of his stellar results and, partially, due to sponsorship agreement with Full Tilt Poker, but the man certainly never seemed like he enjoyed the limelight.

Those years that Ivey did spend grinding WSOP like crazy were usually the years where he had substantial bracelet bets going on, giving him additional incentive to play. Unlike many, he's never seemed to care too much about trumpeting his success to the world.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with boasting your achievements (unless you are overdoing it), but there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a type of person who doesn't care too much about public opinion either. Ivey certainly belongs more to the second group.

For Phil Ivey, poker is primarily business, even though he loves what he is doing. If it makes more sense financially for him to stay in Macau and grind cash games, than that's what he is going to do every time. Playing $50k Players' Championship is certainly nice, but considering the competition, doesn't make too much financial sense. And since Ivey is not on the hunt for a sponsorship deal either, all things considered, it is not a big surprise that we haven't had a chance to see him take seat in a WSOP event... Yet.

All this being said, WSOP is not the same without Ivey. We could say it's just one player and that it doesn't change anything in the big scheme of things, but the thing is - it's not just one player, it's Phil Ivey, it's the man still widely considered the best player in the world.

So all the fans are hoping that before the Series is over Ivey will make an appearance and play at least one or two events!