The world’s top poker player, 35-year-old Phil Ivey, was refused a payout of £7.3 million last year in October 2012, after his winning streak while playing Punto Banco at Crockfords, one of Britain’s oldest casinos belonging to the Mayfair gaming group. He was seen with a “beautiful Asian woman” when he got his lucky break over the August bank holidays. The casino initially agreed to pay out Phil’s winnings, but six weeks later, only his stake of £1 million had been returned.
When Crockfords found out that his beautiful companion’s account had been suspended at another one of Mayfair’s casinos, an exhaustive inquiry was launched to rule out the possibility of “collusion”. The female croupier and other staff members were interviewed at length to rule out this possibility. However, everything seemed to check out on this front. What is peculiar about this case is that in the game of Punto Banco, all cards are dealt by the croupier, which makes the possibility of cheating rather difficult.
The lawyers from both sides are still fighting this case intensely in court, as Crockfords is still adamantly refusing to pay out the rest of Phil’s winnings. The case is currently lost in legal limbo. Will Phil ever have his winnings paid out? Only time will tell… I’m sure the one question that you’re probably asking yourself is “Has anyone got a picture of the pretty Asian girl who was with Phil Ivey?” 😉 We have our people on it, so check back soon!
What is Punto Banco, and how do I play the game?
Punto Banco essentially means two opposing sides – Punto which means player, and Banco which means the bank. Punto Banco is very similar to Baccarat, and the aim of the game is to get a score closer to nine and effectively beat the dealer’s hand.
In this game, your Jacks, Queens, Kings are given the value of 10, and are worthless. The other card values remain the same, while your Aces have the value of ones. The value of a hand is calculated by adding the value of the two cards, and if the total is a double figure, then the 10 is removed.
For example, if the punto draws a 7 and a 5, this is treated as a two (7 + 5 = 12 = 2), as we get a double figure, so remove 10 to get a remaining value of two.
To play, players place their bets on the table (punto, banco, or egalité – a tie). Four cards are dealt – with the first one dealt to the player, then to the bank, then to the player and then to the bank again. After each game, the bets are either paid out or taken by the casino.
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