Phil Ivey must pay back more than $10 million in winnings to an Atlantic City casino after a federal judge said he breached his contract with the establishment.
U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman ruled that Ivey, a world-class poker player who grew up in New Jersey, did not commit fraud at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, but did break a contract by making certain requests in the handling of the playing cards, which reportedly gave him an advantage over the house in some hands, The Bergen Record reported.
Hillman ruled that Ivey and his playing partner Cheng Yin Sun violated the state's Casino Control Act by asking the dealer to arrange the cards in a certain way, which is known as "edge sorting," The Record noted.
According to the court, Cheng had determined that the geometrical pattern on Gemaco baccarat cards was not perfectly symmetrical. If a card was of a high value, Cheng would ask the dealer to rotate it so that the flaw would be identifiable when the card came back around, NJ.com reported.
"Baccarat is a casino game well known for unique and superstitious rituals," Hillman wrote, according to NJ.com. "Thus, Sun telling the dealer to turn a card in a certain way did not raise any red flags for Borgata."
Ivey won $2.4 million in 16 hours on his first visit in April 2012, with a maximum bet of $50,000, according to court documents, stated NJ.com. He increased his maximum bets in Baccarat games in May, July and October at the casino.
In July, 2012, he bet an average of $89,000 a hand and won $4.8 million in 16 hours, Hillman noted in his decision, according to NJ.com.
The casino filed a lawsuit against Ivey after finding out that a London casino was withholding his winnings from high-stakes Punto Banco games, which was similar to the Baccarat, NJ.com noted. The Atlantic City casino learned that Cheng made the same request of adjusting cards in London as well.