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In a long-running series of legal disputes with high-stakes professional card player Phil Ivey, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has filed a new motion. This will see the docket, and the $10.13 million judgement that found in the resort’s favour, being filed in Nevada where Ivey lives and has identifiable financial assets.
New Efforts to Get Damages
Ivey and his co-defendant Cheung Yin Sun were found guilty of an elaborate edge-sorting scheme involving games of Mini Baccarat. The ruling was handed down in 2016 and finalised earlier in 2018, in the state of New Jersey where the Borgata is located.
However, when the Poker pro failed to post his appellate bond, the resort commissioned an investigation to identify any active New Jersey assets owned by Ivey or Sun. When none were discovered, their counsel filed the motion that the original judgement be docketed to Nevada. This was done on Tuesday, October 9 2018, on behalf of Marina Development District Co. LLC, the Borgata’s parent company.
Under United States federal civil case laws, the owners of a judgement are allowed to identify and target property and assets in other states. The measures must be officially approved in a courtroom, which is what the current motion is for.
The formal declaration on the document states that the two accused have not posted their $10.13 million supersedeas bond, and that a related 14-day waiting period has now elapsed. Ivey and Sun sought a stay of the bond until their appeal is decided, claiming hardship, but Judge Noel L. Hillman ruled against this. He allowed the Borgata to take steps to force the payment in money or its assets equivalent, within legal collection effort limits.
The Borgata Investigation Results
During court proceedings, the resort detailed its efforts to identify Ivey’s assets, both in New Jersey and Nevada. In the Garden State, a single Wells Fargo bank account was found, without any funds. In Nevada, 4 businesses that were partially or entirely owned by Ivey were found, as well as a condominium with an indeterminate current value.
Other assets were identified and then found to no longer be viable, but the investigation did find a luxury Mexican property that appears to belong to Ivey. The player also wired money from a Mexican bank account to cover his visits to the Borgata when he and Sun played out their Baccarat scheme. However, seizing property and funds outside of the United States could prove much more difficult. Whether the Borgata manages to recover its full amount of damages remains to be seen.