Poker Pro Phil Ivey Settles Borgata Casino Case

Famous Poker-pro Phil Ivey has reportedly settled his years-long $10-million dispute with Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino. The settlement follows a nearly decade-long dispute between Phil Ivey and partner-in-crime Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun, and the popular MGM-owned casino, over a 2012 Baccarat edge-sorting scandal involving Ivey and Sun. 

Since the settlement has not yet been finalised and ratified by court, the details thereof have not yet been made known to the public. The settlement proposal forms part of an official court filing lodged with the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

That a settlement has now been reached is sure to be a relief to all of the involved parties to the dispute. This is especially the case since legal experts had previously indicated Ivey to be on the likely winning end of the deal. An order issued against the Borgata would have caused endless problems in future rulings over unfair advantages in casino games. Some courts consider a player gaining an advantage part of the strategy of winning, while others view the matter in a more serious and fraudulent light.

About the Original Ruling

The US District Court for New Jersey in 2016 ruled in favour of the Borgata, thereby ordering Ivey to pay back the money he and Sun had illicitly won cheating at Baccarat by edge-sorting. The pair were ordered not only to refund the Borgata the $9.6 million they had won edge-sorting, but also an additional amount of $500,000 in damages and costs.

The Poker pro however refused to part with the ill-begotten winnings, and in 2018 entered into an appeals process in an attempt to finally resolve the matter, which had at that point been dragging on for all of 6 years. 

About The Crime

In April of 2010 Ivey made contact with the Borgata in Atlantic City, requesting the casino book Sun and himself a high-stakes Baccarat table in a secluded area. The dealer, indicated Ivey at the time, should be fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and would have to make use of an 8-deck shoe of purple Gemaco cards. An automatic shuffling machine was also requested, and upon confirmation that all of this had been arranged, the controversial Poker player wired the required $1 million deposit to the casino.

But that wasn’t the last of Ivey’s demands, because upon the pair’s arrival at the Borgata, they requested the dealer to turn the cards in a specific way and direction, which was of course what would ultimately enable the pair to continue their brilliant yet unethical Baccarat cheating stunt.