The Borgata successfully pinch Phil Ivey’s Poker Player Championship winnings, a female poker player in Black Hawk scores an own goal, and officials arrest a poker player in Detroit on fraud charges.
With MILLIONS Europe turned to dust, and the bulwarks of the European Poker Tour (EPT) still under construction in Barcelona, here are three cannonballs filled with an air of misdemeanour for you.
We begin with Phil Ivey.
If you need a regulatory update, there is nobody better in this business than Haley Hintze, and that’s where we start our little tete-a-tete.
Flushdraw has established that New Jersey’s Marina District Development Co., LLC, the daddy of The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, did nick $124,410 from under the nose of Phil Ivey.
Ivey and The Borgata are locked in a baccarat dispute that led to the judicial system granting the East Coast casino license to pursue Ivey, and his edge-sorting partner Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun, to the tune of $10.12m.
So, it was surprising to see Ivey step into the limelight of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the summer. After cashing in three piddly events, Ivey made the money of the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship, a game with a million buck first prize.
The Borgata’s legal team were aware of Ivey’s progress, and no sooner had he made money, legal eagle Jeremy Klausner corresponded with Caesar’s legal people to ensure that The Borgata, and not Ivey, would bank whatever income the Poker Hall of Famer would derive from the event.
Ivey finished a disappointing eighth place for $124,410.
Hintze confirmed that the Borgata has that money.
From court filings, the email that Klausner sent to Caesars:
“Please be advised that I represent Marina District Development Co., LLC (“Borgata”) with respect to Borgata’s case again Philip Ivey and Cheung Yin Sun. You may recall that we obtained a judgment against Ivey and Sun for $10.lM as a result of the baccarat edge sorting scheme. You may also be aware that Mr. Ivey is currently playing in WSOP Event #58 ($50,000 Poker Player’s Championship). As of the end of day 3, Mr. Ivey is the chip leader and “in the money” as one of the final twelve entrants. Today we had a writ of execution from the District of Nevada served by the U.S. Marshal on Caesars Entertainment/Rio/WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada. The writ was personally delivered to Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director. A copy is attached. The writ attaches any assets due Mr. Ivey from Caesars/Rio/WSOP, including his payout for Event #58 (and WSOP bracelet if he is the winner). We also had a writ of execution issued from the District of New Jersey to Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc. (WSOP.com). Although the NJ writ has not been served, it is in process for service by the U.S. Marshal in Camden. Please ensure that Caesars/Rio/WSOP does not make any payments to Mr. Ivey in violation of the duly served writ. When the current event is over, we or the U.S. Marshal will provide instructions for payment. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.”
The snatch hasn’t stopped Ivey from playing poker, publicly. He travelled to Rozvadov to compete in the Triton High Rollers during partypoker MILLIONS Europe but failed to profit.
America’s bumbest ‘poker’ criminal
Ivey may have had his problems with The Borgata, but we never saw any cuffs.
Will Givens has.
The former WSOP bracelet winner was playing at Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado when an altercation between a man and a woman at his table became Twitter worthy.
According to Givens’ tweets, the man and a woman were playing in a three-bet pot. The male was the three-bettor, and after c-betting, the woman thought for 10-seconds before the man said, “If you show your hand, I’ll show you mine.” The woman is then alleged to have said, “I would rather show you my tits,” before throwing her hand in the muck.
After the hand, the woman continued to berate the man, telling him that seeing her tits was “the closest you’ll get to a woman.” The man replied, “I’m good; you look like a tranny.”
“She went nuts!” Givens wrote on Twitter.
Two hours later, she busted and demanded a refund. The casino told her where to stick her refund, and she called the cops to complain. When the police arrived, rather than arrest the man who called her a ‘tranny’, they put the woman in handcuffs. Givens suspects the woman had an outstanding warrant.
Pure gold.
https://twitter.com/Highon7ife/status/1163287129771798528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Borovetz on borrowed time
Authorities have arrested a man with close to $600,000 in live tournament winnings suspected of ‘bugging the shit out of people at airports.’
According to the New York Post, the fuzz arrested Michael Borovetz, 44, at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, as he made his way from Seattle to Miami on a ‘gambling jaunt.’
From the NY Post:
“Borovetz is known at airports across the country for approaching passengers with a sad story in an attempt to get money, while promising to pay it back,” airport officials said. “Once Borovetz receives the money, the victims never hear from him again.”
Borovetz faces two counts of ‘false pretenses with intent to defraud,’ and could face a year in prison for each offence, although you imagine he will receieve a fine and a smack on the wrist.
It’s not Borovetz’s first time in cuffs. His criminal history includes fraud convictions spanning 13 states. Borovetz has not made money in a live tournament since August 2018.
In 2006, he won a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring after beating 207-entrants in a $1,080 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament in Harrah’s Atlantic City, earning $66,240.
