The Borgata, one of Atlantic City’s iconic casinos, submitted on Friday a legal response to the countersuit that popular poker player Phil Ivey filed about two weeks ago.
The player and the prominent casino have been locked in a legal battle since 2014. Back then, The Borgata filed a lawsuit against Ivey and his fellow card player Cheng Yin Sun, arguing that the defendants took advantage of the asymmetries on the backs of eight decks of cards used over four sessions of baccarat played between April and October 2012. In other words, they used the so-called edge-sorting technique, which most casinos do not favor. As a result, Ivey and Sun won the total amount of $9.6 million but were denied their winnings.
The cards used over the four baccarat sessions were manufactured by Kansas-based company Gemaco, Inc. To be more precise, they were of the manufacturer’s purple Gem back design. The cards are known to be usually produced with certain design variances. Generally speaking, they have small white diamond-like circles on their backs. However, there are only quarters of diamonds or halves on some of the cards. Yet, it is important to note that the purple Gemaco decks have been inspected and approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
As mentioned above, Ivey and his attorneys filed a countersuit two weeks ago, claiming that The Borgata purposefully destroyed the decks used during the four baccarat sessions played by the player and his associate Sun. The defendant also pointed out that the casino was well-aware of the fact that the Gemaco cards were usually produced with minor asymmetries and that the state gambling regulator had approved them, despite those imperfections in their design.
In its response to Ivey’s countersuit, The Borgata admitted that it had destroyed most of the cards used at the four baccarat sessions or disposed of those in different other ways, following standard casino practices approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. It seems that it is a general practice for casinos to sell fairly-used decks in their gift shops, to give those away to customers, or to donate them for various causes. The gambling facility said that it is hard to determine the fate of the eight Gemaco decks.
In addition to this, The Borgata acknowledged that it was aware of the fact that some cards “were delivered in a mis-cut” manner. Yet, it reiterated that Gemaco’s decks were approved by the state gambling regulator. The casino and its attorneys claimed in yesterday’s filing that all the fraud in the case was actually done by Ivey and his associate and that they cannot sue as they were denied their winnings as a result from their own misconduct.
Back in 2012, Ivey paid $1 million for a private area at The Borgata where he could play baccarat with Sun, who, too, is a popular card player and has reportedly been banned from a number of casinos. The players asked for a Mandarin-speaking dealer, purple Gemaco cards with Gem back design, and an automatic card shuffler.
Sun was the one to speak with the dealer and instructed her to turn every single of the cards in different directions. The Borgata suggested that the two players were thus able to examine the cards and notice any asymmetries on their backs in order to shift the odds in their favor. According to the casino, the edge-sorting technique was considered violation to the New Jersey gambling laws.
The Borgata case was not the first one Ivey has been involved in. In 2012, the player allegedly used the same technique at the London-based Crockfords casino and thus won $12.4 million. However, the venue refused to pay him the money and the matter was brought to court. Although the court ruled in favor of Crockfords, the player was granted an appeal and will be heard by the end of 2015.
