Last week, Phil Ivey, 36, filed a lawsuit against Mayfair club Crockfords at the High Court in London for refusing to give him the £7.8 million he won there in August last year playing Punto Banco, a game based purley on luck.
On Sunday, Daily Mail reported that Crockfords Casino, the oldest casino in Britain, refuses to pay Mr. Ivey because they believe he and his companion (a Chinese women who is banned from at least two casinos around the world due to alleged cheating) could 'read' the back of the cards and get a huge edge against the house.
According to The Mail on Sunday, which revealed last October that Ivey's winning had been withheld, the cards should look exactly the same when turned 180 degrees, but sometimes the cards can be flawed of a mistake during the cutting process. It means that the cards geometric pattern was not symmetrical - something that only a trained eye could spot - a system known as 'playing the turn'.
Phil Ivey's amazing winning streak was witnessed by a casino inspector and 10 cameras. He betted £50,000 per hand at first, then he was given permission to bet £150,000 per hand. The casino mangement believes that Ivey's companion helped him spot the imperfections and informed him when it was time to make a big bet.
source: dailymail.co.uk