The woman who allegedly used the controversial technique known as edge-sorting to help Phil Ivey (pictured) win millions of dollars playing baccarat has filed a lawsuit against Foxwoods Resort Casino claiming she and two companions are owed over $3 million for gambling sessions that took place there in 2011.

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Cheng Yin Sun, Long Mei Fang, and Zong Yang Li are seeking the return of their $1.6 million initial deposit, $1.1 million in mini-baccarat winnings, $100,000 each for civil rights violations, and $50,000, which was spent contesting a Gaming Commission ruling against them.

Foxwoods claims that the plaintiffs cheated by using the practice of edge-sorting to gain an unfair advantage over the casino. The technique involves spotting and exploiting minute flaws in playing cards produced by specific companies. “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 suit says.

The plaintiffs claim that the casino could have easily thwarted the scheme by refusing to turn the cards the way in which they had requested. The suit also claim that the three were openly using the technique and that management was well aware of Sun’s reputation as an advantage player.

“If Foxwoods… knew [the]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,” the suit continued. In effect, they were being freerolled by the casino, they claim.

In 2012, the Mashantucket Gaming Commission ruled that the three had indeed broken gaming laws and would be arrested if they tried to reenter the casino.

Sun’s lawsuit against Foxwoods makes three involving edge-sorting for the woman. In 2012, she accompanied Ivey during multiple sessions of high-stakes baccarat at Borgatain which the pro won a total of $9.6 million. In April of this year, the casino filed a suit against the pair alleging that their strange playing requests were made solely to facilitate cheating.

“Ivey’s true motive, intention, and purpose in negotiating these playing arrangements was to create a situation in which he could surreptitiously manipulate what he knew to be a defect in the playing cards in order to gain an unfair advantage over Borgata,” read the complaint. “At all relevant times, Borgata was not aware of the defect in the playing cards or Ivey’s true motive for negotiating special arrangements.”

Here’s an infographic about edge-sorting if you’re not familiar:

In July, Ivey’s lawyers hit back, filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and claiming that “each and every penny of defendants’ winnings was the result of sheer skill.”

Borgata caught wind that Ivey and Sun might be using the prohibited strategy when a report appeared claiming that the pair had done just that at Crockfordsof London in August 2012. In that instance, the two had negotiated similar terms for multiple sessions of high-stakes Punto Banco, where Ivey once again cleaned up, stacking £7.8 million in winnings.

But officials at the swanky casino grew suspicious and decided to refund the 38-year-old’s initial deposit while refusing to pay out the rest of the cash. Ivey later filed suit against the casino, saying, “Over the years, I have won and lost substantial sums at Crockfords and I have always honored my commitments. At the time, I was given a receipt for my winnings, but Crockfords subsequently withheld payment. I, therefore, feel I have no alternative but to take legal action.”

The Crockfords case is still pending, but court dates for Borgata’s suit against the pair have recently been set. If both parties can’t agree on an out-of-court settlement, the case could be heard by a jury in July of next year.

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