The Phil Ivey v Borgata baccarat case takes another twist after the card manufacturers Gemaco reminds the court of an interesting revelation from Ivey’s sidekick Chen Yin Sun.
Phil Ivey’s fight to keep the $10m he won playing baccarat at The Borgata in Atlantic City is starting to resemble a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) pay-per-view. Just when you think it’s going to wilt like over boiled asparagus, up pops a new twist to keep the saga rolling.
The last time I wrote on this subject, The Borgata had won, and Ivey needed to find $10.1m after a judge decided Ivey and his accomplice Chen Yin Sun had won the money unfairly.
Ivey, who firmly believes he has done nothing more than outsmarting an Orwellian casino industry, decided to push the case all the way to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeal, but that punch-up had to wait until the Borgata settled their separate dispute with the card manufacturers Gemaco.
In a classic case of root cause analysis, the legal team representing the Borgata believed if the imperfections on the Gemaco playing cards didn’t exist, Sun would never have been able to edge sort, and Ivey would not have won his cash.
And that sounds logical to me.
And it got me thinking if the judge agreed that Gemaco had screwed the pooch, would that mean the card manufacturer would have to repay the Borgata and not Ivey?
An internal inquiry that remains moot after reading John Brennan’s latest account of the trial on NorthJersey.com.
According to Brennan, the legal team representing Gemaco filed a “Responding Statement of Uncontested Material Facts,” to the court, last week, and point 15 was of interest.
In that point, Gemaco drew attention to a statement Sun had made in court, that she could edge sort even without the Gemaco card deck, and when you think about it, The Borgata and the Crockford’s case in London could not have been her first rodeos.
Quoting from Brennan’s piece:
“Sun confirmed that she can identify imperfections with any cards, regardless of who manufactures them. Sun further testified that the card manufacturer is irrelevant and that she is able to gain advantage with any card and can pick up imperfections in almost all instances.”
Does this mean Gemaco are in the clear, and if so, does this mean that Sun has screwed her partner in the process?
The filing also suggests that the Gemaco cards met the standard of imperfection set by the governing body (up to 1/32nd of an inch).
The case continues.
Ooh! Yeah
Wooo!
Train, say your prayers, and take your vitamins, Ivey.
