Ivey techniques under fire
News on 5 Oct 2014
News on 5 Oct 2014
Phil Ivey is under the spotlight as he fights to defend his reputation and recoup winnings of around GBP 7 million from Genting UK’s upmarket Crockfords Club casino before a British High Court.
Ivey has admitted to using an edge-sorting technique while playing a version of baccarat called Punto Banco but firmly stands on his belief that the practice is legal, however, Crockfords says “Ivey’s conduct defeated the premise of the game”.
Ivey was shown the technique by Cheung Yin Sun (Kelly), a friend who accompanied and assisted him at the Mayfair casino in August 2012 over a two-day period.
Promising to wire Ivey his winnings, Crockfords Club retained the GBP 7 million but returned his GBP 1 million stake saying the winnings were retained because the professional gambler had cheated.
“I am highly successful in my job as a poker player and professional gambler and I would never do anything to risk my reputation,” Ivey told the court last week.
“My integrity is infinitely more important to me than a big win, which is why I have brought these proceedings to demonstrate that I have been unjustly treated.”
Ivey also told the court he would consider it as not having done his job as a professional gambler by failing to use weaknesses he identifies in the way casinos set up or offer particular casino games.
“I use a variety of strategies whilst playing in casinos. No system is fail-safe and each time I play I risk failing to execute the strategy properly – some of these are very complex or difficult to execute – which usually results in me losing a lot of money.”
The Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa (Borgata AC) will be watching proceedings with interest, as they too have filed suit against Ivey for using the technique.
Borgata AC wants a whopping $9.6 million in winnings back from Ivey who won the money playing Punto Banco in 2013.
The casino claims Ivey used the same edge-sorting technique while accompanied by Cheung Yin Sun. Sun is also named in the suit.
Ivey is set to appear on a 60 Minutes Sports programme with interviewer James Brown in which he will reportedly explain his innocence. The show is set to air on October 7, 2014.
