Gamblers sue Foxwoods Casino for $3 Million

Three gamblers have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Foxwoods Resort Casino, alleging that the Eastern Connecticut resort failed to pay $1.1 million in winnings along with a $1.6 million deposit meant to cover losses. Foxwoods claims that they’ve refused to pay back the money because the three players cheated.

According to The Day, Chinese nationals Cheung Yin Sun of Las Vegas and Long Mei Fang and Zong Yang Li, both of Los Angeles, want the $2.7 million in winnings/deposit money plus “consequential” damages. The latter includes $100,000 for each plaintiff in civil rights violations along with $50,000 each for legal fees.

The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs deposited $1.6 million at the Foxwoods on December 23rd of 2011. They then used an advantage-play method called “edge sorting” to make $1,148,000 in mini baccarat profits. The suit describes how edge sorting is legal through the following description:

Basically, edge sorting is possible because some brands of playing cards are not cut symmetrically across their backs and some players are gifted with eyesight keen enough to tell the difference.

The plaintiffs also speculate that Foxwoods dealers could have easily stopped the edge sorting by not turning the cards as requested by the players. Furthermore, if the dealers complied with these demands, all the while knowing that winnings would not be honored, this is illegal. Here’s another excerpt from the suit:

If Foxwoods and Foxwoods management knew that plaintiffs were edge sorting and let them practice their form of advantage play anyway – intending to keep their losses if they lost but not honor their winnings if they won – this would be intentional fraud.

Whether or not these three gamblers win their lawsuit may largely hinge on how poker pro Phil Ivey’s cases turn out. Ivey is currently being sued by the Borgata for $9.6 million, while he’s suing Crockfords Casino for over $12 million in two cases that center on edge sorting.

The 10-time WSOP champion essentially used the same techniques as the Chinese nationals to win. Crockfords ended up withholding his winnings after promising to wire the money following a bank holiday, only to review security footage and keep the fortune. The Borgata, on the other hand, did pay Ivey his winnings, but filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking the return of $9.6 million. So both Ivey cases could set the precedent for how all future edge-sorting cases are decided.