After five years, Phil Ivey finally lost his appeal to reclaim £7.7 million (or approximately $10.2 million USD) from Crocksford Club in London. Ivey crushed the Crocksford playing punto banco a.k.a. baccarat during a visit in 2012. The casino's parent company, Genting Casinos UK, refused to pay Ivey his winnings, so Ivey took them to court. The original ruling dismissed Ivey's case on grounds that he was indeed cheating the casino. Ivey claimed he was using "edge sorting" to exploit a loophole in the game. Ivey appealed his case to the Supreme Court, but those five judges ruled unanimously in favor of Crocksford.
Phil Ivey lost a heads-up legal battle with Crocksford Club after the Supreme Court dismissed his case. Phil Ivey attempted to appeal to the Supreme Court in the England, hoping they'd side with his assertion that he beat Crocksford out of £7.7 million playing baccarat a.k.a. punto banco back in 2012.
Back in 2012, security officials at Crocksford Club and their parent company owner, Genting Casinos UK, claimed Ivey violated the rules by taking advantage of design flaw on the back of playing cards. Ivey said that "edge sorting" was just part of the cat and mouse game of professional gamblers vs. the house. Gamblers have always tried to test the elasticity of the rules and exploit information, in order to boost their chances of winning.
Genting Casinos UK asserted that Ivey did not use a "legitimate strategy", which involved identifying slight irregularities in the patterns on the back of the deck. These miniscule details are barely visible to the naked eye, but Ivey must have some sort of superhuman power with special vision or something.
Ivey originally appealed the initial ruling to the Court of Appeal judgement in 2016, but they sided with Crocksford and dismissed Ivey's case. Ivey had one more out... and he appealed all the way to the highest court in Great Britain... the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, comprised of five judges, dismissed Ivey's case in an unanimous decision... upholding the Court of Appeal's decision. Lord Hughes explained: "What Mr. Ivey did was to stage a carefully planned and executed sting."
Poker fans would love to see Ivey regain his laser-sharp focus on poker. Players who got screwed on Full Tilt would love to see Ivey and his FT compadres rot in hell. While the high-stakes community was enjoying playing cards in Ivey-shark-free waters. On thing is for certain, poker is how Ivey became a household name... it was not playing baccarat, or delving into fantasy sports, or starting an online poker school, or betting redonk sums on NBA games, or hustling on the golf course. Ivey and poker are liked peas and carrots. I'm surprised he waited this long to make his return to normal grinding.
By the way, a cryptic video popped up detailing Ivey's return to poker in 2018. Ivey will be returnign to the tournament circuit in 2018, which I assume means he'll be playing in the 2018 WSOP. Assume those bracelet bets will heat up in the upcoming months. Ivey always had a penchant for prop betting...whether it was on his own ability, or backing/fading the ability of others.
In the video, Ivey revealed in an interview that he was currently residing in Hong Kong, in order to be close to high-stakes action in Asia. He played in Macau and the Philippines, but did not expand on any specific details. He also denied playing actual nosebleed stakes in China, which does not permit gambling.
After losing his case, Ivey will return to doing what he does best... playing poker. For the last decade, no one has ever doubted Ivey's ability. But it seems the last few years have been lost to scandals, lawsuits, and the wake of Black Friday. Ivey's been in self-imposed exile in China. Maybe the action is really that good... no one can totally confirm how good/bad Ivey has been running in those nosebleed games in the Philippines and Macau.
Poker fans would love to see Ivey regain his laser-sharp focus in poker and appear on shows like the Poker After Dark reboot. American online players who got screwed by Full Tilt post-Black Friday would love to see Ivey and his FT compadres rot in hell. Meanwhile the high-stakes community in Vegas was enjoying playing cards in Ivey-shark-free waters. Ivey's expected to return sometime in 2018.
