Borgata to use Crockfords verdict against Ivey

We round-up a few regulatory stories you may have missed recently, including an insane minimum bet average in Macau.

Ivey set to lose $9.6m?

Atlantic City based casino Borgata has reportedly added the recent Crockfords verdict to its own $9.6m case against decorated poker pro Phil Ivey.

The 10-time WSOP bracelet winner lost out on a massive £7.8m in winnings which London based casino Crockfords had withheld having discovered that he was using his heavily disputed edge-sorting technique to gain an advantage.

Borgata is suing Ivey over his use of the same controversial technique at its baccarat tables in 2012, which - given that edge-sorting was deemed foul play in the British capital - does not bode too well for the publicly proclaimed best player in the world.

The money that Borgata wants back has already been paid to Ivey, so in defeat, he may have to reach into his - albeit very deep - back pocket and come up with $9.6m.

Min-bet madness in Macau

Ever felt like the minimum bet or buy-in at your local casino is too high? Think twice before venturing out to Macau for a decadent holiday!

The average minimum bet is reported to be equivalent to $270 in China's - and now the world's - gambling capital, a figure so massive, that it stands at more than double the combined averages for Las Vegas, Singapore, South Korea, Australia and the Phillippines:

There's your explanation for high rollers such as Tom Dwan swapping the Sin City desert for the Pearl River Delta.

Adelson backed by "pro-gambling" politicians

According to a recent report, Sheldon Adelson's tenuous Coalition to stop internet gaming in the US is headed by two formally pro-gaming lobbyists - George Pataki and Wellington Webb. 

Hilariously, Pataki was described by The New York Times in 2001 as "the most pro-gambling governer the state had ever had", and Webb, who recently declared to the public that "internet gambling is for chumps" relied heavily on takings from the lottery to fund his operations as Mayor of Denver.

Adelson's Coalition operates on the principle that online gaming "takes things too far" by "targeting the young, the poor and the elderly where they live."

Will Ivey lose against Borgata? Can he afford to write out a cheque that big? Would you still go on a gambling trip to Macau? Let us know below.