Gambling Controversy: Phil Ivey as World Poker Tour Ambassador?

Each of the major casino table games has its advantages.

Roulette and Blackjack offer the best odds against the house (with blackjack slightly superior), baccarat and craps offer a kind of community feel, and slots offer some of the biggest overall payouts relative to wager size.

Poker, however, is the most competitive of the bunch. Only in poker can one player go toe-to-toe against another and walk away with their adversary’s bankroll.

And where is the competition fiercest?

According to some of the best poker players of all time, the World Poker Tour (WPT), of course!

At least, that’s what the WPT would have you believe. In truth, there’s some competition for top dog status in the world of poker – the always-expanding World Series of Poker (WSOP) certainly stakes a claim.

The WSOP consists of a series of tournaments held each year in Las Vegas. Thanks to an excellent branding, PR, tv coverage, (as well as some serious gaming substance), this is the more famous organization at the moment.

But the WPT is a heavy hitter, too!

Like WSOP, they organize a serious of tournaments at various buy-in levels. Unlike WSOP, however, the tourneys aren’t located in any one place (hence the “world” and “tour” parts of their name) — and attract the best talent in the game. In addition to hosting top-tier tournaments offering major payouts, endorsement deals, and more, they’re also making a big PR move at the moment. Perhaps it goes heads up with WSOP for poker supremacy!

That’s why g their latest ambassador is such big news.

We’re talking about the legendary Phil Ivey, of course.

Obviously, this pick brings considerable name recognition to the table…

…but there’s a bit of spicy controversy too!

Let’s take a closer look at what “The Phenom,” and what he brings to the WPT brand.

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The Ivey League

Who is Phil Ivey anyway?

Depending on whom you ask, he’s either one of the best or the best all-around poker player alive.

The proud owner of one WPT title, ten WSOP bracelets, and nine WPT final table appearances, as well as nearly $38m in lifetime winnings, Ivey is also one of the world’s biggest poker names. He is also known as The Phenom, “No Home Jerome” (derived from the fake ID he once used to play at Atlantic City casinos), and “The Tiger Woods of Poker” (a nickname that hasn’t aged well and was always somewhat racially problematic).

He burst onto the scene in 2002, winning no fewer than three WSOP bracelets in one year. This is a world record he currently shares with five other players.

Aside from his unimpeachable credentials, his level of celebrity allows him (and WPT) to offer players bonuses that wouldn’t be possible with lesser ambassadors. One of these includes an “off-the-felt experience” to be held on 10 December, which will emphasize non-poker elements of Ivey’s celebrity.

Allegations of cheating

Like his nickname sake Tiger Woods, there has been a hint of scandal in Ivey’s career. It is of a very surprising nature, however!

There’s nothing sexual about this scandal… or even poker-related! Rather, the game in question is baccarat — specifically, a whopping $10 m payout from the Borgata casino in 2012.

The Borgata took Ivey and his companion, Cheng Yin Sun, to court, claiming that the duo had cheated to achieve this incredible win. Ivey and Sun countered that they decidedly not cheated, nor bent the rules of the game in any way.

Rather, they had used a technique called “edge sorting” to visually determine which cards would be turned up next. In of legality, it’s more akin to card counting in blackjack than it is to using loaded dice. Still, it’s far from a mainstream practice, so the whiff of scandal is somewhat justified.

From our perspective, it seems that Ivey and his friend were well within their rights as players to use all legal means to boost their bankrolls. But you should judge for yourself! Part of responsible gaming is sticking to the rules, after all.

A Buick-sized Ambassador

It makes sense that WPT is putting so much focus on increasing its media footprint.

After all, with WSOP primarily active only once per year, this association acts as the public face of the game for most of American, European, and English-speaking gaming community! And they do much more than just facilitate opportunities to play. They also make sure that poker puts its best foot forward in the public eye…

… and that makes the g of Phil Ivey big news indeed!

It should be very interesting to watch what WPT does next. If they’re serious about challenging the World Series of Poker for top dog status, this is a step in the right direction — but more, bigger, and badder moves will be required too.

Perhaps most interesting would be a Coke vs. Pepsi-style showdown between WSOP and WPT. As many players can attest, when platforms up the ante in competition to win more market share, it’s usually the gambling public who benefits from the special promotions, deals, and offers that result.

We can only hope for a scenario like this in this case.

Whatever happens next, though, it will be exciting to watch a poker celebrity with such tremendous bona fides as Ivey take further steps into the public eye. It can only mean good things for the game, and, therefore, for players as well!