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Today in the 3-Bet we find Phil Ivey in an $11.7m dispute with a British casino, Howard Lederer finding some love on his return to poker and Andrew Feldman making a shameless appearance on a British reality show.
1) British Casino Withholds £7.3 million After Ivey Heater
In a story that blew up last week in the UK, Phil Ivey has reportedly been fleeced out of $11.7 million USD by a British casino.
As the story went in the UK Daily Mail, Ivey, accompanied by “a beautiful Oriental female friend,” rolled up for some action at the Crockford Casino over the August Bank Holiday.
Transferring £1 million as a stake ahead of time, Ivey got down to business at the high-stakes Punto Banco (baccarat) tables.
Going on a heater over two nights and betting upwards of £150,000 per hand, Ivey eventually called it quits up £7.3 million.
Only catch is the casino has now refused to pay and is investigating the video footage.
So far no wrongdoing has been unearthed and the chances Ivey could have “doctored” the results at a game of chance like Punto Banco are virtually zero.
Ivey’s original £1-million stake has reportedly been returned but the dispute is still likely to end up in the British High Court the paper says.
2) Lederer Returns to Bobby’s Room, Gets a Hug
The return to poker Howard Lederer hinted at at the end of the Lederer Files interview has happened sooner than expected.
Much, much sooner in fact.
A grainy photograph of Lederer playing in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio popped up in the 2+2 forums over the weekend and CardPlayer reporter Brian Pempus later confirmed Lederer was there via Twitter:
Howard Lederer playing black-chip game in Bobby's Room w/ Brunson, Elezra, Schulman (no Ivey). Friendly game - lots of laughing and chatter.
— Brian Pempus (@brianpempus) October 9, 2012 Even more egregious? Lederer apparently received a warm welcome from one of the dealers:At Bellagio: Howard Lederer is here. Dealer, who gave Howard a hug, tells me this is his first time coming back since Black Friday.
— Brian Pempus (@brianpempus) October 9, 2012While the return to high-stakes poker with what most call stolen money was met with disdain in the forums, the hug put a few over the edge.
Read the full reaction here.
Also likely not giving Lederer a hug anytime soon? Poker blogger Bill Rini, who rips apart Lederer's recent Pokercast interview in a blog post here.
3) Andrew Feldman Returns to TV in Tiny Boxers
Speaking of shameless returns, everyone's favorite crying high-stakes pro and Secret Millionaire, Andrew Feldman, returned to the small screen recently on an episode of British reality show Hotel GB.
The theme of the show, we think, is people are filmed staying at a hotel run by celebrities including Gordon Ramsay.
Guests pay to stay and/or get spa treatments and the money goes to a youth unemployment charity. Fourteen young trainees are also being filmed with the aim of finding them work by the end of the show.
Perhaps inspired by the charity aspect, Feldman makes a short appearance in his skivvies getting some kind of rubdown.
It's a strange turn on a strange show. Check the clip starting around 20 mins for Feldman:
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