Phil Ivey vs Crockfords court case starts

Crockfords refuse to pay winnings and are currently arguing the case in court

The court case involving Phil Ivey one of the world’s best poker players and Crockfords the London casino has begun. The case was brought to the high court following Mr Ivey won £7.7 million at the casino in August 2012 over a two day period.

Mr Ivey deposited £1 million to play baccarat while in London along with a companion Cheung Yin Sun, however the casino said that after reviewing video tapes of the poker players time at the baccarat table the company refused to pay the winnings because he used a technique called “edge sorting”.

Mr Ivey, who is suing Crockfords for his winnings, has admitted using the which allowed him to predict the order in which cards would appear.

His QC, Richard Spearman, described the technique as “legitimate”. He said casinos were able to guard against it.

Saying that Mr Ivey could not be held responsible for the casino’s “mistake” he went on: “The technique of edge sorting involves nothing more than using information that is available to any player by viewing the backs of the cards…and making requests of the casino, which it is open to the casino to accept or refuse, as to the manner in which play is conducted.”

If that led to an advantage for the player that was simply the “mistake” of the casino staff and in no way cheating on the part of the player, the QC insisted.

Christopher Pymont QC, for the casino, said the scheme was quite possibly “criminal”.

The casino’s lawyer said that his companion spoke Cantonese to the dealer to keep the scheme “covert” from other staff.

The case is continuing in the high court and a decision could take several weeks.