The battle continues for Phil Ivey.
This time, the poker pro has given a fresh hope of recovering the £7.7 million he won playing Punto Banco, a form of baccarat, in London’s Crockford’s casino in 2012.
Ivey won the money by edge sorting—exploiting a defect in the card manufacturing process to identify the face value of cards—that he insisted was a legitimate technique, but a judge ruled in 2014 that his method can be considered cheating.
However, Ivey has recently been allowed to appeal last year’s ruling after a judge ruled that his case “raises an important question of law and has a real prospect of success,” Daily Mail reported. Ivey is set to appear before the Appeal Court on Dec. 10.
In an email to the Daily Mail, Ivey welcomed his “second shot.”
The pro player admitted he was “bitterly disappointed” by last year’s decision because it wasn’t in his “nature to cheat.”
Genting Casinos UK, which operates Crockford’s casino, told the court their croupier was tricked into helping a superstitious Ivey, who they said convinced the staff to let him play using a single pack of “lucky” cards.
For Ivey, it’s the casino’s job to prevent a player from having any advantage.
“When you are a professional gambler you are always looking for ways to gain an advantage over the casino,” Ivey said, according to the news outlet.
This isn’t the only time Ivey’s edge-sorting technique has gotten him in trouble. The player is still in a middle of a long-drawn legal feud against the Borgata Hotel & Casino, which accused him and his associate, Cheng Yin Sun, of scamming the Atlantic City casino out of $9.6 million while playing mini-baccarat in 2012.
Aside from his stock argument—that he only used his skill and good observation to get an advantage—Ivey also claimed the casino used free booze and its Borgata Babes to give itself an edge over gamblers.
“Everyone knows that alcohol impairs your judgment, and they offer that, and they have the pretty cocktail waitresses and they’re all very flirty… I got quite a few numbers,” Ivey said in his countersuit.
