US poker player Phil Ivey sues Genting

Cases such as this have been chronicled when a Casino is insolvent.

US poker player Phil Ivey sues casino

Mr Ivey says he has won more than $16m (£10.3m) in poker tournaments

Top US poker player Phil Ivey is suing a Mayfair casino for £7.8m of winnings he says they are refusing to hand over.

In a claim issued at the High Court in London, Mr Ivey, 36, says he won the money fairly playing card game punto banco at Crockfords last August.

He said he was "deeply saddened" the club, which he says gave a receipt for his winnings, "left me no alternative but to proceed with legal action".

Crockfords owner Genting said it would be "defending this claim vigorously".

It is not clear why the winnings were withheld.

'Best player'

Mr Ivey, who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and who says he has won more than £10.3m ($16m) in poker tournaments, said in a statement he had "won and lost substantial sums" at Crockfords over the years and had "always honoured my commitments".

"At the time, I was given a receipt for my winnings but Crockfords subsequently withheld payment," he added.

"I therefore feel I have no alternative but to take legal action."

His lawyer, Matthew Dowd, said it "was with great regret that Phil has been forced to issue court proceedings against Crockfords to secure payment of his winnings".

Genting said in a statement that it did not comment "on matters involving individual members".

"However, in this rare instance we are able to confirm that our position, which is supported by strong legal advice, has been made very clear to Mr Ivey's solicitors from the start," he added.

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Our position, which is supported by strong legal advice, has been made very clear to Mr Ivey's solicitors from the start”

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"We shall be filing our defence shortly and defending this claim vigorously."

In punto banco - a game of chance which means "player bank" - bets are placed on whether a player or a banker gets the hand with the total closest to nine.

Mr Ivey is described by his publicity team as "the youngest player to ever hold nine world series of poker championship bracelets" and "one of, if not the best, poker player alive".

Crockfords was founded as a private members gaming club in 1828 by businessman William Crockford.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22449642

Poker Pro Phil Ivey Sues Crockfords Casino

by Renee Israel Phil Ivey, who is considered one of the world's best poker players, has filed a writ in London's High Court against Crockfords Casino in Mayfair. Ivey, known as 'the Tiger Woods of Poker', claims that London's oldest gambling club owes him close to £7.3 million he won playing the casino game Punto Banco, a variant of Baccarat. Crockfords, owned by the Malaysian Genting Group, is allegedly withholding money won by Ivey during a private gaming session of Punto Banco, when he visited the club in August last year. Ivey is a seasoned card game player and has been recorded to be the world's sixth highest earner in Punto Banco tournaments, amassing a £9 million fortune in payouts from this game alone. Phil "Saddened" by Crockfords Lawsuit Phil Ivey has stated that while he is "saddened" to have had to reach the point of filing a lawsuit against the prestigious London casino, he was left with no other choice. Don't miss... Crockfords Club Genting Casinos Phil Ivey In Standoff with UK Casino "Over the years, I have won and lost substantial sums at Crockfords and I have always honoured my commitments," he said in a statement. "At the time, I was given a receipt for my winnings, but Crockfords subsequently withheld payment. I therefore feel I have no alternative but to take legal action." Ivey's lawyer, Matthew Dowd added: "It is with great regret that Phil has been forced to issue court proceedings against Crockfords to secure payment of his winnings." During a visit to the casino last year with his female companion, Ivey hit a winning streak at the game and over a two day period amassed winnings of over £7.3 million. However, when he asked for his payout, the casino refused to hand over the money and instead opened an internal investigation. Genting flew investigators from Kuala Lampur to review surveillance video footage, examine the cards used and interview staff and croupiers The move was criticised in light of the fact that Punto Banco is a pure game of chance with virtually no way of being 'fixed'. Genting Comments on Phil Ivey Case As Phil Ivey sues Crockfords, a spokesman for Genting said that while comments were not usually made regarding individual members, an exception had been made in this case. "In this rare instance we are able to confirm that our position, which is supported by strong legal advice, has been made very clear to Mr Ivey's solicitors from the start. We shall be filing our defence shortly." Founded in 1828, Crockfords is the oldest casino in Britain, and some years ago was sold to the Genting gaming corporation. http://www.gamblingkingz.com/news/2013/05/09/poker-pro-phil-ivey-sues-crockfords-casino.asp

Phil Ivey, Continued

Genting is the financial backer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts seeking Reservation Shopping in Taunton, a community to which the Tribe has no historical ties. 

The conduct of Genting around the globe deserves scrutiny if they refuse to pay winners. 

Phil Ivey, Poker Champion, Denied $11.7 Million Payout From Punto Banco Card Game

Poker champ Phil Ivey recently played a different card game and won $11.7 million. But did he play Crockfords casino for a sucker?

The ritzy London gambling joint is withholding the money Ivey earned there in August in a Baccarat variation called Punto Banco, the Las Vegas Review-Journalreported. Unlike poker, Punto Banco is considered a no-skill game in which the outcome is determined strictly by the deal of the cards.

And that's perhaps why suspicions have been raised. Ivey had a "remarkable" lucky streak, the Daily Mail reported.

Crockfords, owned by Malaysia-based Genting, probably wasn't complaining when Ivey quickly lost $800,000, the paper said. But then he and an unidentified gorgeous companion, whom Crockfords learned had her membership revoked by another casino, launched an impressive run over two nights.

Ivey and his companion never touched the cards, the Daily Mail wrote. The only other people present during the streak were the croupier and an inspector. Investigators interviewed employees who worked that night and pored over surveillance video. They also checked out the cards and the shoe from which they were dealt.

A Crockfords spokesman told The Huffington Post on Tuesday that the casino is sticking by its original statement that it would honor the club's privacy policy and not comment "until we have something further to report."

Lawyers for both sides are in a "tense standoff," the British tabloid wrote. And it remains unclear if Ivey is being accused of an impropriety. Lance Bradley, the editor of Bluff magazine, told ABC News that Ivey's reputation is clean.

The casino originally agreed to deposit his winnings in a bank account, but has only returned his initial $1.6 million bankroll, ABC News noted.

Ivey, 35, has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and is "arguably the best poker player in the world," according to WSOP.com.

He also has a reputation as a high roller away from his profession. He recently accepted an undisclosed settlement of a $900,000 debt reportedly owed him by fellow pro Ram Vaswani on a golf bet. Vaswani originally refused to pay because he felt Ivey underplayed his skills but acknowledged they had reached an "arrangement."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/phil-ivey-poker-champion-_n_1951012.html?utm_hp_ref=business