Phil Ivey can now return to the poker tables in the U.S without worrying about legal repercussions. The poker legend has stayed away from the country for over half a decade for reasons we all know. Ivey has had a long-standing legal battle with the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.
The Borgata had the ability to take control of any potential winnings he would collect from playing in poker tournaments across the country, because he and his former gambling partner Kelly Sun owe the casino $10 million. But the latest court filing indicates that Ivey and Borgata have already agreed to a settlement, marking the end of a six-year legal war.
How It Started
In 2012, Ivey and Sun had enjoyed an incredible winning streak playing a series of baccarat sessions at Borgata. Both amassed $9.6 million from the casino by employing a technique known as “edge-sorting“.
The pair won the high-stakes games by observing, spotting, and exploiting subtle manufacturing defects on the backs of the cards, but they hadn’t touched them at all. This allowed them to correctly predict whether the card to be turned was low or high, giving them a statistical edge over the house (Borgata).
The question on whether edge sorting can be classified as cheating has long been the subject of debate, but Borgata believed they’d been cheated on by the duo, and both committed a breach of contract by using the technique. This led to the casino filing a massive lawsuit against the pair in 2014. Both Ivey and Sun were slapped with charges including fraud, racketeering, and unjust enrichment.
The gambling pair countersued, but in 2017, the Federal Judge of New Jersey ultimately ruled in favor of Borgata and ordered both players to refund the $10.1 million. But despite a series of attempts chasing after Ivey’s assets, Borgata was never repaid. Last year though, the casino managed to seize all of Ivey’s winnings in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) amounting to $133,398, including the $124,410 he won for finishing eighth in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
With Ivey not being able to get his hands on his WSOP winnings, it became clear he’s better off avoiding the US while the case was still pending. But with both parties now reaching a settlement, Ivey can now freely take part in major tournaments taking place in the country.
Undisclosed Settlement
While Ivey had suffered some bad blows in his legal battle against Borgata, he was also silently working behind the scenes, appealing the case. Not known to many, Ivey has been making some small progress in the appeals process since last year.
An oral argument was conducted on September 17, 2019, afterwhich the case went to the Third Circuit’s mediation program. It was there that both parties agreed to a settlement, and apparently, it was a win for Ivey regardless of the amount of money involved. As to why Borgata agreed to settle, the reasons are a bit obvious.
Possible Reason for Settlement
Ivey and Borgata probably felt it’s the right time to put an end to the legal war that had impacted both of them negatively. Ivey’s reputation was obviously tainted with widespread criticism, but Borgata also had their fair share of public criticism, especially as their act of pursuing Ivey for the $10 million didn’t sit well with everyone.
There were many poker players who backed Ivey and Sun in the case, as they clearly hadn’t touched or marked the cards in question, meaning they did not necessarily cheat. The pair admitted they employed edge-sorting but denied it was a form of cheating.
As it appears, Borgata could be the one throwing in the towel because if Ivey wins in the appeals process, it would set a negative precedent that could potentially impact the operations of their parent company MGM Resorts, and even if the court ultimately decides in favor of Borgata, it would still remain unclear if Ivey can actually repay the $10 million, therefore a settlement is the most viable option so both parties can embark on a fresh start.