Phil Ivey Is Accused of Edge Sorting at the Baccarat Table
The Borgata Casino in Atlantic City is suing Phil Ivey for $9.6 million, claiming he was involved in a cheating scheme at their establishment. The Borgata, the most profitable casino on the Boardwalk these days, filed a federal lawsuit against the professional gambler for a practice called “edge sorting”.
Phil Ivey is considered one of the finest professional poker players in the world. With 9 World Series of Poker bracelets and 9 final table finishes on the World Poker Tour, many consider Ivey to be the best current Texas hold’em player. His 9 WSOP bracelts place him in a tie with Johnny Moss for 4th on the all-time list, behind only Phil Hellmuth Jr. (13), Doyle Brunson (10), and Johnny Chan (10).
When Phil Ivey wins at poker, no one bats an eye. But when he begins to win at a game of chance like baccarat, casino executives begin to take a harder look. In the case of the Borgata, casino staff eventually realized Ivey had an advantage they consider unfair.
Defective Cards Gave an Advantage
According to the lawsuit, a Kansas City card manufacturer made defective cards, because they were not symmetrical on the back. This allowed Phil Ivey to spot which cards were good and bad, thus allowing him to sort and arrange the good cards for his baccarat hand. The technique is called edge sorting. The Borgata contends that the technique is illegal under New Jersey regulations.
Phil Ivey admitted to edge sorting at a London casino in 2012, where he won about $12 million (7.3 million pounds) in one single session. After the casino refused to pay him, Ivey launched a lawsuit which is still ongoing in the UK.
Ivey and a female friend, Cheng Yin Sun, paid four visits to the Borgata in 2012. In those visits, Ivey’s friend told dealers how to turn the cards, which allowed Phil Ivey to sort them in his favor. The cards had a recognizable flaw on them, giving the players a chance to weight the odds in their favor while betting big money.
Details of the Four Gaming Sessions
Phil Ivey played his sessions between April 2012 and October 2012. In each case, he used his high roller status to gain concessions from the casino. He asked for three stipulations. One, he wanted a dealer who could speak Mandarin Chinese. Two, he wanted to use a purple pack of Gemaco cards. Three, he wanted to use an automatic shuffler exclusively.
During the first two trips–one in April and one in May of 2012–Phil Ivey agreed to play up to $50,000 per hand. He wired a $1 million deposit to the Borgata as assurance. In the third and fourth trips–in July 2012 and October 2012–Ivey wired $3 million to the casino as assurance, and was allowed to wager up to $100,000 per hand. It was obvious the casino assumed it would win big in the end, so it was willing to allow larger bets.
In the April 2012 session, Ivey and friend played 16 hours and won $2.4 million. In May 2012, Ivey played 56 hours and won just under $1.6 million. In July 2012, he played another 17 hours and won just under $4.8 million. In October 2012, Phil Ivey played another 18 hours, where he won almost $825,000.
Was Borgata Negligent?
Casino gamblers online have been taking the side of Phil Ivey. For the most part, gamblers feel like the casino is giving plenty of advantages. So when the casino or its suppliers make a mistake and the players use that mistake to gain an advantage, it’s considered by many gamblers to be a fair play.
These players ask why the casino management did not inspect their cards a little closer, since gamblers like Phil Ivey obviously was able to do so. Gemaco Incorporated of Blue Springs, Missouri made the cards. They passed inspection at the Gemaco plant and at the Borgata. Under these conditions, the casino was willing to allow these bets to take place, so the gamblers involved wonder why they should be punished for taking advantage of a mistake the casino made. Players also wonder why the Borgata did not include a dealer hand, which would have made it impossible to edge sort the baccarat cards.
Protect the Players
Balanced against this is a player fairness issue. Other gamblers at the baccarat table are likely to bet against Phil Ivey. In fact, rules stipulate a certain balance to the betting in baccarat, between the bank and the player. The Borgata can cite protection of the other gamblers, because an edge sorter is going to affect the odds those players have–much to their detriment.
New Jersey Roots
The 38 year old Phil Ivey has been playing in Atlantic City casinos most of his life. He was born in California, but moved to New Jersey at a young age. When he was a teenager, he got a fake ID and snuck into Atlantic City casinos to gamble. It was in those teenage casino visits that he mastered the game of poker. Though he has never won a World Series of Poker Main Event–most of his career was after the fields grew to epic proportions–Phil Ivey has won 9 bracelets and made 9 other final tables.
