It turns out, Phil Ivey was dealt the losing hand.

According to iTV News, Ivey was ruled against by a High Court judge in his case against the Crockfords Club Casino in his bid to retrieve £7.7m in “winnings” he accumulated through the use of “edge sorting.”

Ivey argued that “edge sorting” was a technique he used to gain his edge on the house while Crockfords argued that by doing so he “defeated the premise of the game and therefore meant there was no contract between Ivey and the casino.”

The court declared that Ivey could not lay claim to these won funds and a “pleased” Crockfords issued the following statement:

“We attach the greatest importance to our exemplary reputation for fair, honest and professional conduct and today’s ruling vindicates the steps we have taken in this matter.”

Through a spokesman, Phil Ivey has also issued the following statements:

“I am obviously disappointed with this judge’s decision. As I said in court, it is not my nature to cheat and I would never do anything to risk my reputation.”

“I am pleased that the judge acknowledged in court that I was a truthful witness by saying that ‘I am entirely convinced that Mr Ivey did not consider that what he was doing was cheating.”

Ivey continued “I believe that what we did was a legitimate strategy – we did nothing more than exploit Crockfords’ failures to take proper steps to protect themselves against a player of my ability – clearly today, the judge did not agree.”

Additionally, it looks as if Ivey was denied the ability to appeal, but they “can renew their application to the Court of Appeal directly.”

More on this story as it develops.

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