A New Jersey
casino is suing a professional poker player it says won $9.6m (£5.7m) by
cheating at baccarat.
The
Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City says that in 2012 Phil Ivey relied on a
tactic called edge sorting to help him guess the value of face-down cards.
It says he studied the cards' back sides for imperfections "to gain an
unfair advantage".
In the lawsuit, Borgata says Ivey told the casino
the conditions were due to his superstitions, but the terms enabled Ivey to
manipulate the cards to his advantage. Here's how: The Gemaco cards used
weren't perfectly symmetrical, so by having the dealer turn baccarat's most
important cards upside down - which isn't noticeable with properly made
symmetrical cards - Ivey gained an advantage over the house and exploited that
advantage to win $9.6 million. The
nine-time World Series of Poker winner is considered one of the best players in
the world.
No lawyer was listed for Mr Ivey in federal court records
and the BBC was unable to reach him for comment.
Previous cheating allegation
In the suit filed in federal court in New Jersey
on Tuesday, the casino said Mr Ivey created "a situation in which he could
surreptitiously manipulate what he knew to be a defect in the playing cards in
order to gain an unfair advantage over Borgata".
The Borgata alleges
that Mr Ivey and an accomplice gave directions to the dealer to flip the cars
in a specific manner, citing superstition. The casino accommodated Mr Ivey's
request, it says.
Mr Ivey's true intent was to gain advantage over the
house by tracking the cards' edges as they were dealt through the pack, the
casino says.
The casino demands Mr Ivey and his co-defendant Chen Yin
Sun return the winnings.
The Borgata has also listed card manufacturer
Gemaco in the suit, saying the company failed to guarantee its cards were free
of defects or distinguishable marks.
Mr Ivey had previously been
accused of edge sorting by London casino Crockfords, which withheld more than
$12m in winnings.
He later filed a lawsuit against Crockfords to
release the funds. .
However, the shock news for high street bookies
was offset with surprise good news for the bingo industry, which saw the duty
it pays on its winnings halve from 20% to 10%.
The industry had long
complained it had been penalised in the 2009 budget when its tax rate was
unexpectedly increased from 15% to 22% - which later came down to 20%. Bingo
industry insiders had been expecting a cut back to the old rate of 15%, which
is also the level bookmakers are taxed on profits from sports bets. However,
they were delighted with their unexpected win.
Ian Burke, chief
executive of Rank Group, which operates 97 Mecca Bingo clubs across the UK,
said: "Today's announcement is an important boost for Britain's bingo clubs,
which provide a range of social and economic benefits for the communities they
serve. By bringing bingo duty into line with other forms of gaming
entertainment, the government has created a basis for renewed investment and
innovation."
Rank's shares rose by 7.5% and in contrast to Ladbrokes'
predictions, the company said it would now consider opening more venues. "Rank
has identified a number of towns and cities in Britain where, in the light of
today's announcement, it would like to develop new clubs," it said.
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