• Home
  • ZorkFest
    • ZorkFest 2018 Thank You
    • ZorkFest Social Wall
    • ZorkFest Info
    • ZorkFest Schedule 2018 Las Vegas
    • Podcasters After Dark
  • ZorkCast
  • SHOP
    • ZorkFest – Register Today!
    • TravelZork Store
    • My Cart
    • My Account
    • TravelZork Store Terms & Conditions
  • DEALS
    • Travel Deals
    • FoundersCard | Limited Promotion | Founders Card
    • USA | Miles+Points Credit Card Offers
  • Vegas & Casino
    • Hotel Reviews (Casino)
    • Casino Trip Reports & Narratives
    • Casino Loyalty, Casino Gaming and Gambling
    • Casino News
    • Strip Resort/Parking Fees
    • Non-Strip Resort/Parking Fees
  • Airlines
    • KLM
    • Delta
    • Air France
    • American Airlines
    • Southwest Airlines
  • Hotels
    • Hotel Reviews (non-casino)
    • Hotel Reviews (casino)
  • Tourism
  • Dining
  • About
    • Team
      • Meet The TravelZork Team
      • Join Our Team – Be a TravelZork
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • CART
  • Home
  • ZorkFest
    • ZorkFest 2018 Thank You
    • ZorkFest Social Wall
    • ZorkFest Info
    • ZorkFest Schedule 2018 Las Vegas
    • Podcasters After Dark
  • ZorkCast
  • SHOP
    • ZorkFest – Register Today!
    • TravelZork Store
    • My Cart
    • My Account
    • TravelZork Store Terms & Conditions
  • DEALS
    • Travel Deals
    • FoundersCard | Limited Promotion | Founders Card
    • USA | Miles+Points Credit Card Offers
  • Vegas & Casino
    • Hotel Reviews (Casino)
    • Casino Trip Reports & Narratives
    • Casino Loyalty, Casino Gaming and Gambling
    • Casino News
    • Strip Resort/Parking Fees
    • Non-Strip Resort/Parking Fees
  • Airlines
    • KLM
    • Delta
    • Air France
    • American Airlines
    • Southwest Airlines
  • Hotels
    • Hotel Reviews (non-casino)
    • Hotel Reviews (casino)
  • Tourism
  • Dining
  • About
    • Team
      • Meet The TravelZork Team
      • Join Our Team – Be a TravelZork
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • CART
Previous Next

Case Dismissed | Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd t/a Crockfords

Posted by: Michael Trager , October 25, 2017

Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd t/a Crockfords

Cheats never prosper – and certainly not when a casino withholds their £7.7m winnings…

Guest post by: Tom Sumner

Back in July, Michael wrote a piece on the interesting case involving Phil Ivey and Crockfords casino.

Ivey had taken a civil case all the way up to the UK Supreme Court (the UK’s highest court) after Crockfords refused to pay out his £7.7m Baccarat winnings, claiming he cheated.

The Supreme Court has just ruled in the case, and found in favour of Crockfords.

The judgment comes as no surprise to me. I spoke at length with Michael about the case, and fully predicted that Ivey would be unsuccessful. Why? Quite simply, the fact that he cheated. I fully concede it was an ingenious and relatively “benign” form of cheating (no security guards were duct-taped, no elaborate wiring devices were strapped to his leg, yes I have watched Casino too many times), but it was cheating nevertheless.

Case Dismissed | Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd t/a CrockfordsSo why do I think Phil Ivey cheated?

Ivey and his associate, Cheung Yin Sun, engaged in a type of advantage play called “edge-sorting”. You can read all about that here. However, I have no issue with edge-sorting by itself. The key point is that for his edge-sorting to be most effective, Ivey used a supposed “superstition” to persuade the croupier to rotate the most valuable cards.

That was what gave him the edge, and for reasons set out below, it’s this interaction with the croupier that led to the Supreme Court’s verdict.

By way of background, while “cheating at gambling” is a specific criminal offence under the Gambling Act 2005, this was not the precise point at issue here. Ivey was not prosecuted. This was a civil (i.e. non-criminal) claim brought by Ivey. The withholding of winnings by Crockfords based on the act of cheating boiled down very simply to an English common law point that a gambling contract contains an implied (i.e unwritten) term that no party to it will cheat.

That, I think we can all agree, is fair enough.

But what exactly is cheating? Didn’t Ivey just use his skill and ingenuity to work the system in his favour?

The Supreme Court rightly said that “it would be unwise to attempt a definition of cheating”. Such a wide-ranging offence, with its various civil, criminal and moral connotations clearly can’t be condensed into a quick term of reference.

While cheating was understandably not defined by the Court, and is not properly defined in the Gambling Act (which essentially defines “cheating at gambling” as “cheating at gambling”), there is an example given in the Gambling Act which was used as a helpful reference point in the Ivey case. It’s contained in section 42(3)(a) and states:

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) cheating at gambling may, in particular, consist of actual or attempted deception or interference in connection with—

(a) the process by which gambling is conducted

While section 42(3) relates to the criminal offence of cheating at gambling, which was not the issue at stake here, clearly this is a relevant and influential legislative point when dealing with the common law meaning of what amounts to “cheating (at gambling)”.

In its judgment, the Court noted that “in ordinary language cheating need not involve deception, and section 42(3) recognises this. Section 42(3) does not exhaustively define cheating, but it puts beyond doubt that both deception and interference with the game may amount to it”.

Accordingly, in light of section 42(3), “cheating” at gambling need not necessarily involve being particularly deceptive or dishonest. However, when you “interfere with the game”, you run the risk of committing it. Ivey actively (and misleadingly, you could argue) interfered in the ordinary course of the game, and in doing so gained his advantage. So, while Ivey claimed to employ nothing more than a “legitimate Advantage Play technique”, the Court disagreed and found in Crockfords favour.

Interestingly, while per the above the Court did conclude that dishonesty was not an essential ingredient in the act of cheating at gambling, it did add that if the offence had required “an additional legal element of dishonesty”, it would have been satisfied by Ivey’s behaviour.

Conclusions

Despite my fairly stark assessment above (which is, I should stress, in conformity with some of the finest legal minds in England!), I confess to having some sympathy for Ivey on this one. He was largely transparent in his behaviour and certainly did not do anything sinister. You are allowed to interact with the croupier and on that basis you can see his argument that he did nothing more than utilise the tools presented to him by the game itself.

However, his clear manipulation of the croupier, not least given his misleading reference to “superstition” as the basis for it, is in my view a step too far. He actively tampered with the game’s mechanics, and that in my view falls foul of the provisions of section 42(3) and the clear statement that “interference in… the process by which gambling is conducted” can amount to cheating.

Vehemently disagree?!

This is clearly one that’s going to divide opinion (it heavily exercised a number of the top legal minds in the UK for several months), and it’s a fascinating debate. I’d be very interested in anyone else’s take…


Tom Sumner
A qualified UK lawyer and gambling industry observer, Tom is a veteran of the UK travel blog scene, and a founder of new UK loyalty travel site UKtravelpoints.com. Check it out on its 1 November launch – while his thrifty mindset will continue to ensure your travel bill is reduced and experience improved, he’s also going to make sure you enjoy the process a lot more.  

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Nonstop to your next reward flight.

Southwest Vacations Vegas
Book a flight + Wynn Las Vegas or Encore hotel package of two nights or more, and enjoy a complimentary daily breakfast buffet for two. Plus, receive exclusive savings on select room categories.

Advertisement - Privacy and Cookie Policy Disclosure

Tags: baccarat, baccarat edge sorting, Edge Sorting, edge sorting Borgata, edge sorting Crockfords, edge sorting Phil Ivey, Ivey versus Crockfords, Ivey vs Crockfords, Phil Ivey, Phil Ivey baccarat, Phil Ivey Edge Sorting, Phil Ivey Punto Banco, Phil Ivey UK Supreme Court UK, punto banco, Supreme Court UK, UK Supreme Court

Michael Trager

About the author

Michael resides in London and travels extensively as a British Airways Executive Club (BAEC) Gold member, after previously being a Delta Diamond Medallion in The Netherlands. Miles+Points airline/hotel loyalty programs and learning to optimize the use of loyalty programs are intense interests of Michael’s. In addition, Michael is passionate about casino loyalty programs, the history of Las Vegas/Atlantic City and baccarat, as well as cooking and also enjoying foodie experiences around the globe.

Popular
Recent
Comments
  • KLM Upgrade

    KLM Upgrade Bidding “Upgrade Yourself”

    April 11, 2015
    Living the Mlife: An Introduction

    Living the Mlife: An Introduction – MGM M life Rewards Loyalty Program

    February 11, 2019
    FoundersCard Benefits

    FoundersCard Caesars Benefit | Caesars Total Rewards Diamond Status

    April 29, 2016
  • Venetian Las Vegas

    This Local Loves Dining at the Venetian Vegas

    February 21, 2019
    Borgata Gift Card

    Use Your Credit Card for MGM M life Rewards Slot P ...

    February 19, 2019
    Vegas News 17 February 2019 | Caesars Sale Rumors (Again), MGM Earnings and more

    Vegas News | Caesars Sale Rumors (Again), MGM Earn ...

    February 18, 2019
  • […] Related: Living the Mlife: An Introducti ...

    February 19, 2019

    […] on in the call, MGM Resorts touched on t ...

    February 18, 2019

    […] is more expensive every few months and c ...

    February 10, 2019

Tag Cloud

atlantic city atlantic city casinos atlantic city events atlantic city promotions Atlantic City shows borgata borgata atlantic city borgata hotel Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Caesars Caesars Entertainment Caesars Palace casino CASINO GAMING Casino Hotel casino loyalty Casino news Casinos Cosmopolitan Delta DOAC downtown las vegas downtown vegas DTLV Entertainment Fremont Street Fremont Street Vegas Gambling gaming Golden Nugget Las Vegas lasvegas Las Vegas News Las Vegas Strip mgm MGM Resorts MGM Resorts International The Vegas travel TravelZork vegas Vegas News Vegas Strip Vegas Strip Casino Wynn

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Copyright © 2014 - 2019 TravelZork
Designed and Developed by fdMobile
Hosted by Powder Cloud Corporation
  • Home
  • Team
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept Privacy Policy