Since 2012, Phil Ivey has been trying to recoup just over $12 million in winnings from Crockfords Casino, a gambling establishment located in London, England. Ivey played the Punto Banco tables at the casino and managed to win $12.4 million. The casino called foul and stated Ivey cheated to win the money. The long-drawn out case between the two have finally come to an end, with a judge ruling that Ivey is not due the money as the method he used to win is considered cheating.
Just yesterday, Bloomberg reported Ivey lost the case after Judge John Mitting ruled the edge sorting method used by Ivey was equal to cheating. The casino will not be paying the millions in winnings to the poker pro after all. Ivey claimed that the method used is a legitimate strategy but according to the judge, the way the strategy was implemented was considered cheating.
During the trail, Mitting stated that Phil Ivey was honest in his testimony but his forthright testimony would not give him a win in the case. Mitting stated that Ivey gave himself an advantage and in his view, this is cheating.
In his defense, Ivey stated that being a gambler as a profession means to determine ways in which he could reduce the house edge. Ivey has to place the odds in his favor to win. He used the edge sorting process to spot flaws on the print of the card backs to then determine the value of the card. This would allow him to make certain moves that would be of benefit during game play.
One point that most likely caused the ruling against Ivey is that fact that Ivey and a fellow player talked the croupier into dealing and moving the cards in a particular way that would allow the players to spot the flaws easier. The judge’s ruling stated that Ivey used the croupier as an innocent tool or agent.
After this ruling, Ivey still believes he did nothing wrong. In a statement, Ivey said that he believes what he did was a legitimate strategy and he simply exploited the failure of the casino to take the proper measures to protect themselves from a player of his ability, but clearly the judge did not agree in this case.
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