Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino is seeking the amount of $15.5 million from popular card player Phil Ivey, according to a brief filed by the gambling venue earlier this week. A federal judge ruled last month that Ivey and companion player Cheng Yin Sun had violated New Jersey’s casino laws by using the edge sorting technique while playing baccarat at the Borgata back in 2012.
Edge sorting basically allows players to explore and exploit discrepancies on playing cards’ backs to adjust the odds in their favor. Ivey and Sun won $9.6 million over eight baccarat sessions played at the above-mentioned casino four years ago.
Shortly after being paid out their winnings, the two players were brought to court by the Borgata. The popular gambling venue argued that it should have the money back as Ivey and Sun had committed fraud by using the highly questionable technique to beat the house edge.
A federal judge dismissed last month the fraud claims but ruled that the two players had breached their contract with the Borgata and had therefore violated the New Jersey casino laws. The gambling venue was asked to outline the damages it had suffered and its preferred judgment. The brief was made public on Wednesday.
In the first place, the Borgata said it wanted Ivey’s winnings returned. The sum owed now amounts to $10.1 million as it includes interest. The poker pro and his companion player will also have to pay $249,000 in comps they had been granted while playing at the casino.
Lastly, the Borgata claimed that it had to be paid what it called “expectation damages”, with those totaling $5.4 million. That would have been the approximate amount Ivey and Sun would have lost, if they had not used the edge sorting technique. However, that last request may not be taken into consideration by court as the casino is asking for losses from a game that was never played.
If Ivey and Sun had played without using the edge sorting technique, they would have probably placed much smaller bets. According to court filings, the two players had played a total of 8,618 hands over eight sessions, with an average bet of $62,500.
Ivey and Sun’s legal team will have to respond to the brief within a 20-day period.
The Borgata court battle has not been the only one to end unfavorably for the popular card player. Last week, Ivey lost his appeal against a London High Court ruling denying him the amount of £7.8 million he had won by playing baccarat at Crockfords Casino in Mayfair, London.
The gambling venue had refused to pay out the player’s winnings as it had found out that he had used the edge sorting technique to improve his odds. Ivey brought the matter to court but lost the case and the subsequent appeal.
The player has never denied that he has deployed edge sorting while playing at both the Borgata and Crockfords but has repeatedly pointed out that this should not be seen as cheating but as winning a game by using skill.
