For some time now, Phil Ivey has been fighting for monies he feels he is due by the Borgata Casino. Ivey had visited the casino back in 2014 and managed to win almost $10 million by playing the game of baccarat. It was then that the casino decided to sue the poker pro based on the claim that Ivey had used edge-sorting to gain an advantage on the casino. Ivey has now decided to countersue based on a new report by ESPN.
According to the report, Ivey claims that the Borgata destroyed the card decks involved in the incident so the casino has no way of proving their claims. In the countersuit, it states that an official of the Borgata acknowledged that the casino was aware that the playing cards have cutting tolerances that Ivey never once cut the cards. It was also admitted that it is not unusual for special requests to be made by players at the high roller tables.
It was reported that Ivey asked for a certain type of card deck to be used, one that had irregularities, as well as an automatic card shuffler. He also reportedly asked for a shoe with eight decks. It was also reported that the poker pro asked for a private dealer as well as his companion Cheng Yin Sun to be in attendance. Sun speaks Mandarin and was able to speak with the dealer. The Borgata did agreed to every request by Ivey.
During the visit, Ivey managed to earn $2.4 million. On April 11th in 2012. He then returned to the casino in May and played under the same requests, earning $1.6 million. He then went back in July and changed his playing terms just a bit and earned $4.7 million. The changes showed the casino allowing Ivey being able to double his maximum bet. The poker pro would then return months later, in October, to earn an additional $825,000. The pro has been very successful at the Borgata baccarat tables.
The Borgata then discovered the phase in March and called Ivey and his moves ‘premeditated, practiced and intricate’. This is not the first time the poker pro has also been accused of using cards to his advantage. He was also said to have used similar tactics at the Crockfords casino to earn cash while playing the game of punto banco.
In regards to the allegations by Crockfords Casino, Ivey stated that it is not in his nature to cheat during game play and he would never do anything to put his reputation at risk. He believes that his methods of game pay are legitimate and a strategic way of playing the game. Ivey stated that his efforts at Crockfords were nothing more than using his ability to use imperfections to win after the casino failed to find fault in the cards.
Crockfords continues their efforts against the pro and the case is set to go to trial in December. Ivey was able to win more than $12 million at the casino at punto banco. For now, Ivey tries to fight both the UK and US casinos for his actions at the felt.
It is not necessarily against the law to count cards or use specific methods to win at the gaming tables. However, casinos do have the right to ban a player from participating in gaming at their facility. Ivey was able to win so much money over a lengthy period of time at both casinos, it seems as though both establishments should have caught on fairly quickly and put a stop to the activities. However, they did not, so now they must fight the pro in the hopes of regaining or not having to pay up for his winnings.