Fact Check: Did Phil Ivey Back or Option David Grann's Bestselling Book 'The Wager'?

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The rumor gained traction because casual observers know Phil Ivey’s career involves millions in volatile wagers. During the 2010s, Ivey captured international headlines through bitter legal clashes with Crockfords Club in London and the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City over roughly $22 million in winnings. Those courts dissected baccarat edge sorting, a technique where a player reads minute manufacturing irregularities on card backs, ruling against Ivey after years of appellate battles.

Ivey's investments outside poker focus on digital gaming platforms, non-fungible tokens, sportswear endorsements, and international short-deck tournament tours in Macau and the Philippines. He has never operated a narrative film production shingle. Unlike actors or high-profile tech founders who purchase book rights to build slate portfolios, Ivey directs capital toward private equity, hospitality ventures, and the high-roller poker circuit.

Ivey has bet staggering sums on golf matches, craps rolls, and sports championships. Rumors occasionally circulate in Las Vegas about six-figure wagers placed between poker titans on obscure cultural events. Yet licensed sportsbooks and prediction markets never offered a liquid book on box-office returns or Academy Award prospects for an unfilmed project like The Wager.