*Professional poker player Phil Ivey, a 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, has been ordered by a federal judge to give back more than $10 million dollars in winnings to Atlantic City’s Borgata casino.
Complex.com reports that the order comes two years after Ivey and his associate, Cheung Yin Sun, were sued by the casino for allegedly “cheating” at baccarat.
US District Court Judge Noel Hillman agreed with attorneys for the Borgata Resort & Casino that the two men failed to follow gambling regulations on four occasions in 2012.
The casino accused them of having a dealer at the Borgata arrange baccarat cards with “edge irregularities” that gave them an unfair advantage.
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Ivey and Sun allegedly used a technique called “edge sorting” to guess which cards would be coming next.
While the casino alleges that the cards used in the games were defective, Ivey said he simply noticed things that any savvy player could have observed if they knew where to look.
In his ruling, the judge suggested Ivey’s card skills had more to do with his cheating hustle than just luck.
“Lady Luck is like nectar to gamblers, because no one would otherwise play a game he knows he will always lose.”
Judge Hillman ordered the men to return the $10.1 million they won playing baccarat and craps on four occasions at the casino.
Ivey’s attorney said the judge affirmed that his client had followed every rule of baccarat and did not commit fraud.
“What this ruling says is a player is prohibited from combining his skill and intellect and visual acuity to beat the casino at its own game,” attorney Ed Jacobs said.
Phil Ivey plans to appeal the ruling.
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