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| Champion poker player 'stitched up' casino in £7.7m winning streak, court hears | Champion poker player 'stitched up' casino in £7.7m winning streak, court hears |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| One of the world’s best poker players "stitched up" a venerable London casino after taking advantage of a minor flaw in playing cards to go on a remarkable £7.7 million winning streak, the High Court has heard. | One of the world’s best poker players "stitched up" a venerable London casino after taking advantage of a minor flaw in playing cards to go on a remarkable £7.7 million winning streak, the High Court has heard. |
| Professional player Phil Ivey created an “air of superstition” by insisting on wearing a lucky hat, using a lucky Asian card dealer and a lucky pack of cards to hide the fact that he had adopted a system that tipped the odds in his favour, the casino management claimed. | |
| Aided by a Hong Kong friend, Mr Ivey, 38, turned around early losses to win the fortune over two days of playing a game of little skill at the upmarket Crockfords Club in London’s Mayfair that is part of the £21 billion Malaysian Genting Group. | Aided by a Hong Kong friend, Mr Ivey, 38, turned around early losses to win the fortune over two days of playing a game of little skill at the upmarket Crockfords Club in London’s Mayfair that is part of the £21 billion Malaysian Genting Group. |
| Mr Ivey is suing the casino group after it returned his £1m stake but refused to pay his winnings after claiming that it had been cheated out of the money. Despite being one of the biggest casino operators in the world, senior staff at the casino were unaware of the known flaw in the playing cards, the court heard. | Mr Ivey is suing the casino group after it returned his £1m stake but refused to pay his winnings after claiming that it had been cheated out of the money. Despite being one of the biggest casino operators in the world, senior staff at the casino were unaware of the known flaw in the playing cards, the court heard. |
| Mr Ivey says that he exploited the casino’s failures to take proper security measures and they went along with all his requests without question. “Putting it bluntly, he played, he won and they ought to pay up,” said Richard Spearman, counsel for Mr Ivey. | Mr Ivey says that he exploited the casino’s failures to take proper security measures and they went along with all his requests without question. “Putting it bluntly, he played, he won and they ought to pay up,” said Richard Spearman, counsel for Mr Ivey. |
| Ivey turned around early losses to win the fortune at the upmarket Crockfords Club in London’s Mayfair (Alamy) As a high-roller of international standing, Mr Ivey was given a private room to play a version of Baccarat known as Punto Banco over four sessions in August 2012. He was a regular at the club – and was considered enough of a VIP for him to request a private jet from Barcelona to London, according to court papers. | Ivey turned around early losses to win the fortune at the upmarket Crockfords Club in London’s Mayfair (Alamy) As a high-roller of international standing, Mr Ivey was given a private room to play a version of Baccarat known as Punto Banco over four sessions in August 2012. He was a regular at the club – and was considered enough of a VIP for him to request a private jet from Barcelona to London, according to court papers. |
| CCTV footage that captured the game showed how Mr Ivey used the technique of “edge-counting” to give him a better chance of guessing the next card that would come out of the shuffling machine. | CCTV footage that captured the game showed how Mr Ivey used the technique of “edge-counting” to give him a better chance of guessing the next card that would come out of the shuffling machine. |
| The game – based on gambling on the value of two or three cards – was tipped in his favour after the pair asked for the best cards – 7s, 8s, and 9s - to be turned 180 degrees before they were put back into the machine. | The game – based on gambling on the value of two or three cards – was tipped in his favour after the pair asked for the best cards – 7s, 8s, and 9s - to be turned 180 degrees before they were put back into the machine. |
| Because of the flaw in the cards – that was not known by the casino – Mr Ivey was able to spot them before they came out of the shoe and gave him a better chance of winning. | Because of the flaw in the cards – that was not known by the casino – Mr Ivey was able to spot them before they came out of the shoe and gave him a better chance of winning. |
| Phil Ivey pauses during a hand at the final table at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) (Getty Images) Staff at the casino discussed the fact that they asked the dealer to turn around some of the cards “like that made any difference” and put it down to superstition. “It did make a difference,” said Mr Spearman. “They just didn’t realise.” | Phil Ivey pauses during a hand at the final table at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) (Getty Images) Staff at the casino discussed the fact that they asked the dealer to turn around some of the cards “like that made any difference” and put it down to superstition. “It did make a difference,” said Mr Spearman. “They just didn’t realise.” |
| But Mr Ivey’s legal team said that casinos “preyed upon” the superstitions of big-money players to make some of their highest profits. But Mr Ivey – whose poker tournament winnings alone amounts to more than £12m - and his assistant Cheung Yin Sun were allowed to request their changes unchecked over hours of play. | But Mr Ivey’s legal team said that casinos “preyed upon” the superstitions of big-money players to make some of their highest profits. But Mr Ivey – whose poker tournament winnings alone amounts to more than £12m - and his assistant Cheung Yin Sun were allowed to request their changes unchecked over hours of play. |
| Mr Spearman told Mr Justice Mitting, a bridge player who said that he had never been to a casino, that there was an adversarial “cat and mouse” atmosphere at the club. He said that the casino could have halted the winning streak by changing cards or putting extra security on the dealing machine – but they didn’t. | Mr Spearman told Mr Justice Mitting, a bridge player who said that he had never been to a casino, that there was an adversarial “cat and mouse” atmosphere at the club. He said that the casino could have halted the winning streak by changing cards or putting extra security on the dealing machine – but they didn’t. |
| “He regards this as entirely fair play,” said Mr Spearman, who said that his client had used the technique at casinos in Canada, the US and Australia. “If a casino fouls up from start to finish that’s the gamblers good fortune.” | “He regards this as entirely fair play,” said Mr Spearman, who said that his client had used the technique at casinos in Canada, the US and Australia. “If a casino fouls up from start to finish that’s the gamblers good fortune.” |
| Christopher Pymont QC, counsel for the casino, said that he took advantage of ignorance at Crockfords and said Mr Ivey’s actions were “highly immoral and dishonest”. | Christopher Pymont QC, counsel for the casino, said that he took advantage of ignorance at Crockfords and said Mr Ivey’s actions were “highly immoral and dishonest”. |
| “The whole point is to stich up the casino, to fix it, when you know it’s in ignorance of what you’re doing,” he said. | “The whole point is to stich up the casino, to fix it, when you know it’s in ignorance of what you’re doing,” he said. |
| The case, which is expected to last a week, continues. | The case, which is expected to last a week, continues. |