Poker Champion Defends Himself in His First Television Interview

Premiering Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on SHOWTIME^®

VIDEO PREVIEW: Watch, share or embed this three-minute segment preview.  Go behind the scenes with segment producer Alvin Patrick, correspondent James Brown and Phil Ivey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAVkIRtdSYU 

          NEW YORK (Oct. 6, 2014)—Phil Ivey says the casinos accusing him of cheating them out of over $20 million simply bet against him and lost. The man considered by many to be the world’s best poker player defends his reputation in an interview with James Brown on the next edition of 60 MINUTES SPORTS premiering Tuesday, Oct. 7  at 10:00 PM, ET/PT only on SHOWTIME. 

         Ivey has won 10 championship bracelets at the World Series of Poker, and has collected more than $21 million in official tournament prizes in his career.  But the high roller has made millions more playing other casino games. In 2012, while playing baccarat – a table game similar to blackjack –  he won $9.6 million at the Borgata in Atlantic City and about $12 million at Crockfords in London. The Borgata is suing Ivey for the money he won; Ivey is suing Crockfords because they refused to pay him.

         Both casinos say Ivey deceived them by asking for a set of conditions that made it possible for him to use “edge sorting” – a sophisticated way of reading the back of cards by identifying flaws in their designs. Among the requests the casinos granted were the use of a specific brand of cards and a companion who is a known expert edge sorter.  

         In his first interview addressing the lawsuits, Ivey tells Brown the casinos granted his requests because they “Knew they had an opportunity to win… a decent amount of money.”

         Ivey wired the Borgata $3 million and Crockfords about $1.5 million as front money he was willing to wager. “That was one of the reasons why they granted the requests that I made, because I wired the money up front,” he tells Brown.  And his advantage?  “I had somewhere around a 5 percent or 6 percent advantage… You put yourself in the best position to win… I still could have lost.”

         Pressed by Brown that the casinos say he told them his requests were based on superstitions and that he should have divulged the fact that the brand of cards he requested could be used for edge sorting, Ivey replies.  “I disagree. That's why we're going to court.  There's a big difference between being an advantage player, someone who looks for… an advantage… over the house, versus someone cheating,” says Ivey.  “Cheating is using a device… or having information available that—both parties aren't privy to,” he tells Brown.

         Neither Crockfords nor the Borgata would speak to 60 MINUTES SPORTS, citing the litigation, and saying their legal filings speak for themselves.

         The court cases mean much more than the money to Ivey.  “My reputation is everything in gambling.  To risk my reputation over winning some money, I would not do that.”

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