Phil Ivey: the myth, the legend, the Tiger Woods of poker. What does a successful poker player look like? Phil Ivey, right? As it turns out, the popular view of this poker icon might be remarkably different from the truth.
Most readers will be aware of the still-ongoing public spat between Tiltware (the company behind Full Tilt Poker) and Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey chose to boycott the 2011 WSOP until the company processed cash outs for Full Tilt players. Tiltware accused Phil Ivey of being sanctimonious and defensive, and notably, stated that Ivy owed Tiltware a “significant sum” of money.
Most would agree that approximately $6 million would constitute a “significant sum” of money, a figure derived from recently obtained Full Tilt Poker (FTP) financials. The records detail the internal FTP transactions performed on Phil Ivey’s FTP account. Keep in mind that they do not reflect any transactions made outside the company, such as bank wires or transfers between personal accounts. In this way the data is incomplete; however, if the reports do not offer a comprehensive view into FTP financials, they do offer an approximation of where the two parties stand.
Beginning in June 2009 through April 15, 2011 (Black Friday), Phil Ivey was loaned money by FTP eighteen times for a grand total of $10,715,000. These loans were dispersed primarily in groups of $500,000 or $1 million, each of them marked with the word “advance” and many marked with an approval by Rich Bitar, the company’s handler for sponsored pros. Ivey repaid part of the loan, as his account was debited by the company.
The total difference between what Phil Ivey was loaned and what he paid back is $6,215,000. In other words, what he owes Tiltware.
These transactions reveal the nature of Phil Ivey’s relationship with FTP and Tiltware, how the poker site handled its money, and how the owners paid themselves. How Ivey will repay Tiltware, without the constant loans to bankroll his lifestyle and poker playing, is unclear.