Genting Casinos UK Does Not Have To Pay Ivey 7.7 Million Pounds

Published on October 8th, 2014 6:15 pm EST

Bad news for Phil Ivey today as he has lost his court case against Genting Casinos UK, which is the owner of Crockfords.

In the summer of 2012, Ivey won 7.7 million pounds (about $12.4 million USD) playing Punto Banco at Crockfords. After he requested a wire payout, Crockfords decided that something was off and that they would investigate Ivey's win. This investigation involved the analysis of videotape and consultation with experts and employees of Crockfords.

In the end, Crockfords elected to return Ivey's initial stake but not his profit as they alleged that Ivey had used "edge sorting" in order to win. "Edge sorting" involves the use of improperly cut cards to gain an advantage over the casino. Ivey and his associate requested that certain cards in the deck be turned 180 degrees, which would allow them to know when certain cards (the 7,8 and 9 in this case) had been dealt without them being turned over. This gave Ivey and his associate an edge over the casino and they made full use of it.

Ivey freely admitted to being an "advantage player" and that he had used "edge sorting" to gain an advantage over Crockfords. Ivey contended that the strategy was "lawful" and that it was the casino's responsibility to avoid exposing themselves to any weaknesses that would allow their customers to gain an edge.

Crockfords and Genting Casinos UK disagreed, arguing that Ivey had used underhanded tactics to wrongly gain an advantage.

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Britain's High Court agreed with Crockfords and Genting Casinos UK earlier today and Ivey will not be getting any of the 7.7 million pounds that he was looking for. Britain's High Court agreed with the casino's contention that Ivey's tactics were not legitimate and that they should not have to pay Ivey out.

Ivey said that he was disappointed in the ruling and that he still believes that what he did was "lawful" and legitimate.

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The Borgata is currently suing Ivey for nearly $10 million in order to recover a payout that they say occurred when Ivey used "edge sorting" in one of their casinos. The case is not expected to go to trial until next year but it's probably safe to say that the Borgata is feeling even better about their case today.

Source: ESPN.com - British Court Rules Against Phil Ivey

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