Phil Ivey is a name that even people who are not particularly interested in poker have heard. The player, who is known to be one of the best in the world, is a ten-time WSOP winner and one-time WPT champion. He currently ranks 3rd in the US all-time money list with $22,482,691 in live earnings.
Ivey is quite popular on the online poker scene under the alias ‘Polarizing’, although he has been on a losing streak for quite some time now. The player has lost more than $1.5 million in online poker rooms since the beginning of 2015.
And it seems that poker is not the only game Ivey is proficient in. In 2012, he won more than $20 million at baccarat at the Borgata and the London-based Crockfords Casino. The player was, however, allegedly using the so-called edge sorting technique, which resulted in two lawsuits brought against him by executives of the two gambling venues.
Edge sorting is technique used by advanced players, who are trying to determine whether a face-down card is low or high by observing imperfections and differences on the backs of certain types of cards.
The Crockfords case dates back to August 2012. Ivey won the total amount of $12.38 million in two visits to the venue. He was paid back his original stake, but was denied to receive his winning. As the two parties did not manage to reach an agreement, the player brought the matter to court. Both Ivey and Crockfords admitted to the course of events, while he was at the premises. They, however, could not agree on as to whether his actions were legitimate or not.
Ivey lost this lawsuit, although he was the plaintiff. In October 2014, Judge John Mitting pronounced the player guilty and found his actions an attempt to violate the established civil law.
As for the Borgata case, the lawsuit is still pending and Ivey has a chance of winning it. Back in April 2012, the player won $9.6 million over four baccarat sessions played at the casino. He was allegedly using the same technique.
There is, however, one major difference between the two cases. Ivey is the defendant in the Borgata one and has already received his winnings.
Last week, a District Court Judge refused to dismiss the charges against the player, which means that the case will be continued. However, no clues were given as to which one of the two parties is more likely to win.
