Atlantic City Casino Responds To Phil Ivey’s Countersuit
The feud between Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa and poker pro Phil Ivey continues to make news in the poker community. The casino had first filed a lawsuit against Phil Ivey back in April 2014 as it alleged that Phil Ivey and his gaming partner Cheung Yin Sun resorted to ‘card counting’ when they visited the casino in 2012 and won over $9.6 million.
The casino filed a case against Ivey stating that they should not have to pay out the $9.6 million as the players used illegal tactics to take advantage of the casino.
Phil Ivey had also been sued by a casino in London over the same charge stating that he used ‘card counting’ to win millions at the casino and a U.K court had ruled that the casino was not required to pay out any funds due to the ‘card counting’ practice adopted by Ivey.
Phil Ivey countersued the casino and stated that the casino had offered him and Cheung Yin Sun a number of privileges during their visits and stated that they used a high level of poker skills to win every cent at the casino and did not resort to any illegal means to gain an advantage. The counter-suit demanded that the Borgata pay out the full amount that was won and also pay all court costs and legal fees associated with frivolous lawsuits as per New Jersey law.
Ivey’s counter-suit also states that the Borgata had purposefully destroyed the set of playing cards that Ivey and Cheung Yin Sun used at the casino while playing mini-baccarat play. The lawsuit also went a step further and sued the Borgata for damages to Ivey’s reputation as the poker pro stated that he has built a name for himself in the industry over the years and would not resort to malpractices to gain an unfair advantage.
The Borgata recently filed a counter-claim against Phil Ivey on the 14th of August and stated
that some of the cards used in the play at issue in this case were destroyed in the regular course of plaintiff’s business operations, prior to plaintiff’s becoming aware of defendants’ scheme and the defect in the playing cards, and pursuant to applicable regulations.
A judge had earlier thrown out Ivey’s request to have the Borgata case dropped and sided with the casino but it remains to be seen how the court will rule in the end.
