Phil Ivey v Crockfords Now Enters High Stakes Lawsuit

Last August, poker legend Phil Ivey got quite a surprise after winning £7.3 million ($12.1m) playing high-stakes punto banco at an exclusive gambling club in London. You see, the renowned Genting Crockfords in Mayfair decided not to pay their celebrated patron and opted, instead, to withhold the cash.
Several months later, and now the 37 year old Las Vegas star has decided to sue Crockfords for his winnings, and explained recently: “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.”
Initially, Britain’s oldest casino was keen to rule out the possibility of any cheating, but since then it appears that no evidence has surfaced suggesting anything untoward took place. In addition, the card game punto banco, in which a player aims to hold cards closest to nine, is mostly a skill-free game and according to experts is is near impossible  to fix.
Nevertheless, it would seem Phil Ivey has given up on the possibility of Crockfords paying him the money and so felt compelled to issue court proceedings against the casino. Ivey also pointed out that he was ‘deeply saddened’ by the situation and that over the years he had both won and lost large amounts at Crockfords and had always honoured his commitments.
Meanwhile, the high profile lawsuit stands the risk of damaging the celebrated casino’s reputation amongst its high-rolling clients. However, has Crockfords got an ace up its sleeve? Crockfords is owned by Malaysian gaming corporation Genting, and as a spokesman for the company said yesterday:
“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.”