Poker ace in £8m casino cheating row may get back his winnings
THE poker player denied £7.8million in winnings after a London casino accused him of cheating has spoken for the first time about the case as a landmark legal decision gave him fresh hope of recovering the money.
The owners of Mayfair gaming club Crockfords claimed Phil Ivey, 39, had broken the rules when playing the card game punto banco, a form of baccarat, in August 2012.
Mr Ivey, the world’s leading poker player, insisted he used a legitimate technique known as edge sorting – but a High Court action he brought against the casino for non-payment of winnings failed last year.
However, Mr Ivey has now been granted permission to appeal after a judge ruled that his case raises an important question of law and has ‘a real prospect of success’.
‘This is really great news. I am getting a second shot and I’m hoping we will win this time around,’ Mr Ivey told The Mail on Sunday yesterday.
‘It is not in my nature to cheat, which is why I was so bitterly disappointed by the judge’s decision a year ago, even though he said I was a truthful witness.’
Mr Ivey exploited tiny flaws in the design of the cards – asymmetrical pattern differences on the back edges created in the manufacturing process.
‘When you are a professional gambler you are always looking for ways to gain an advantage over the casino,’ he said. ‘It’s their job to prevent me from having any advantage. Sometimes I come out on top, sometimes they do.’
When he finished playing after two nights he was told his winnings would be wired to him. ‘It was all pretty amicable but after a few days the money hadn’t turned up,’ said Mr Ivey who has never spoken out about the case.
In court last year, Genting Casinos UK, which owns Crockfords, argued that edge sorting was not a legitimate strategy and constituted cheating.
They said their croupier was tricked into helping the gambler after he pretended to be superstitious. He convinced staff to let him play repeatedly with a single pack of ‘lucky’ cards that had a pattern suited to edge sorting.
The latest chapter in the long-running dispute is due to be played out at the Appeal Court on December 10. Mr Ivey’s lawyers will argue that cheating involves dishonesty, yet the judge found that he was not dishonest.
Mr Ivey, who lives in Las Vegas and has won the Poker World Series ten times, said yesterday: ‘When you’re accused of cheating it’s a very big deal in gambling. I’m not allowed in certain casinos because of what happened. But my colleagues have been tremendously supportive – they know what is cheating and what is not.’