{"id":23318,"date":"2019-03-11T18:32:18","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T19:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=23318"},"modified":"2019-03-12T13:44:10","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T13:44:10","slug":"lawsuit-legacy-and-more-the-hits-keep-coming-for-poker-pro-phil-ivey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/lawsuit-legacy-and-more-the-hits-keep-coming-for-poker-pro-phil-ivey\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawsuit, Legacy And More\u2013The Hits Keep Coming For Poker Pro Phil Ivey"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 2019 was not kind to poker superstar Phil Ivey<\/strong>, and it has nothing to do with how things went on the table. Ivey suffered a significant setback in his ongoing legal battle<\/strong> and lost his namesake poker room on the Strip.<\/p>\n

To refresh, Ivey and Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa<\/strong>\u00a0have been embroiled in a dispute for nearly seven years<\/strong>. The issue at hand is a series of Baccarat sessions in which Ivey managed to win $9.6 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In order to accomplish this major score, Ivey and a partner,\u00a0Cheung Yin \u201cKelly\u201d Sun<\/strong>, employed a controversial technique known as \u201cedge sorting<\/strong>.\u201d Borgata has sued Ivey for fraud and breach of contract<\/strong> due to this practice, which involves using discrepancies in the manufacturer\u2019s design on the backs of cards to determine their value.<\/p>\n

So far, the Atlantic City casino\u2019s lawsuit<\/strong>\u00a0has been somewhat successful in court. The judge agreed that Ivey did breach his contract as specified under the New Jersey Casino Control Act<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ivey has pledged to appeal the decision<\/strong>, of course. However, after the judgment, Borgata could seek restitution for $10.16 million<\/strong>, which includes the $9.6 million and an extra $560,000 that Ivey won playing craps afterward.<\/p>\n

Borgata can now pursue poker pro Phil Ivey outside of New Jersey<\/span><\/h2>\n

Up until now, Borgata had been stymied in its pursuit of Ivey\u2019s money because Ivey had no major assets in the state of New Jersey<\/strong>. However, the same judge ruled that Borgata could pursue Ivey\u2019s assets outside of New Jersey in the first part of February 2019.<\/p>\n

It is not clear what remedy Borgata will use to satisfy the amount of the judgment. However, there is speculation that the casino will look towards Ivey\u2019s Nevada<\/strong> assets, which are said to be plentiful. It is not outside the realm of possibility that Ivey would have to sell some assets to acquire the appropriate amount of cash.<\/p>\n

Things could still get worse for Ivey<\/span><\/h2>\n

One might think that things are at a nadir for Ivey right now. He was<\/em> a famed poker legend\u2013a reputation that has now been tarnished amid drama that seems to be neverending. Now Borgata (and MGM) are attempting to make things much worse for the poker star.<\/p>\n

Borgata\u2019s initially claimed three grievances<\/strong> against Ivey\u2013fraud, breach of contract, and what\u2019s known as a RICO<\/strong> violation. A RICO violation occurs when various persons break the\u00a0Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act<\/strong><\/a>, or RICO Act.<\/p>\n

The RICO Act punishes persons who engage in criminal acts as part of a criminal organization. Prosecutors and law enforcement use RICO more commonly against members of the Mafia<\/strong> and other criminal gang organizations.<\/p>\n

In effect, Borgata is alleging that the partnership between Ivey and Sun constitutes a criminal organization<\/strong>. So, their use of edge sorting would qualify as a RICO violation.<\/p>\n

If a judge rules that a claimant is in violation of RICO, the person(s) are subject to a mandatory trebling of damages<\/strong>. In other words, Borgata sought to triple<\/strong> the $10.16 million judgment to over $30 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now, initially, the judge ruled that Ivey did not commit fraud or a RICO violation, thus sparing him from this ballooning of the judgment amount. However, Borgata recently cross-appealed the judgment<\/a>, seeking to reinstate those two allegations against Ivey.<\/p>\n

So, things could get much worse for Ivey before they get better. Potentially, they could get $20 million worse.<\/p>\n

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