Phil Ivey and his associate Cheng Yin Sun have countersued The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and their parent company Marina District Development Co., LLC, in their $9.6m edge sorting spat.
Phil Ivey has played his latest hand in the most expensive game of his life, and it’s to countersue The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and their parent company Marina District Development Co., LLC, over his disputed $9.6m mini-baccarat win in 2012.
According to court documents obtained by Cardplayer Ivey’s legal team have countersued the gambling giant on the premise that the Gemaco, Inc. playing cards used in the controversial 2012 sessions have been destroyed, making it difficult for them to prepare an appropriate defense. It’s a little like trying to put Jack the Ripper behind bars without the production of a murder weapon.
Whilst the 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, and his associate Chen Yin Sun, are countersuing the casino and their parent company, Gemaco are not. In the court papers, submitted to federal court on Wednesday, Ivey and Sun’s legal team clearly point the finger at Gemaco, Inc. for producing imperfect cards, whilst also suggesting that this is fairly common within the industry, a fact The Borgata will have known about.
Ivey and Cheng Yin Sun won $9,626,000 playing a maximum of $100,000 per hand during four sessions at The Borgata between April and October 2012. The court documents are demanding judgment against the plaintiff as follows:
A. Dismissing plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice
B. An award of attorney’s fees and cost pursuant to the New Jersey Frivolous Lawsuit statute
C. Any other relief the court deems equitable and just.
Ivey and his team will be hoping for a better result than the one they were backhanded with last October, when a High Court in London sided with Crockford’s Casino over their decision to withhold £7.7 million in baccarat winnings that Ivey had won in August 2012.
The seemingly most successful baccarat player on the planet has appealed that decision and his fate will be sealed in December. Ivey missed the 46th Annual WSOP preferring to focus on his cash game action. He played in the $111,111 One Drop High Roller but failed to make the money as Phil Hellmuth extended his bracelet tally over him by four with victory in the Razz Championships.
