Phil Ivey says he will get “a second chance” to prove that he did not cheat when he used a technique known as edge sorting to win 8 million pound at Mayfair gaming club Crockfords.
Edge sorting exploits tiny defects in cards to help a player gain an edge reading the cards as they come out. Ivey was denied 7.8 million pounds in winnings by a UK High Court after the London casino accused him of cheating when playing the card game punto banco, a form of baccarat, in August 2012.
Ivey then sued for non-payment of winnings, but lost the ruling.
Ivey, however, has now been granted permission to appeal after a judge ruled that his case raises an important question of law and has “a real prospect of success,” the Daily Mail reported.
‘This is really great news,” Ivey told the newspaper. “I am getting a second shot and I’m hoping we will win this time around. It is not in my nature to cheat, which is why I was so bitterly disappointed by the judge’s decision a year ago, even though he said I was a truthful witness.”
Ivey has maintained in this case, and in a similar case involving the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City New Jersey, that it is the casino’s job to ensure its cards are uniform, not his.
‘When you are a professional gambler you are always looking for ways to gain an advantage over the casino,’ he said. ‘It’s their job to prevent me from having any advantage. Sometimes I come out on top, sometimes they do.’
Genting Casinos UK, which owns Crockfords, argued in court that edge sorting was not a legitimate strategy and constituted cheating.
According to the Mail, the casino charged that their croupier was tricked into helping Ivey after he pretended to be superstitious. Ivey convinced staff to let him play repeatedly with a single pack of ‘lucky’ cards that had a pattern suited to edge sorting.
Ivey, however, says he is looking for vindication.
“When you’re accused of cheating it’s a very big deal in gambling. I’m not allowed in certain casinos because of what happened,” he told the Mail. ‘But my colleagues have been tremendously supportive—they know what is cheating and what is not.”
The appeal is scheduled to be heard Dec. 10.
