Phil Ivey and Maurice Hawkins Face Financial Troubles Over Gambling Debts

Phil Ivey and his assistant Chen Yin Sun must return $10 million to the Borgata casino, which they won in baccarat in 2012. The Borgata casino has been awarded 75% of Phil Ivey's earnings in Nevada, where the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is held. This decision comes after a court ruling that Ivey and Sun must return the winnings they acquired in 2012.

Maurice Hawkins, known for his record number of WSOP-C bracelets, is also facing financial troubles. Hawkins owes $103,000 to his former backer Randy Garcia, who provided him with a bankroll for playing in the WSOP Circuit. Garcia revealed that Hawkins lost the entire bankroll in blackjack just a day after a successful performance at the WSOP Circuit final table. Despite this, Garcia gave Hawkins more money to try and recover his losses, but Hawkins continued to lose.

Hawkins has a reputation for scamming and cheating, including selling shares in tournaments and losing money in blackjack. Another backer, Hal Lewis, also accused Hawkins of scamming him out of $22,000. Lewis threatened to take Hawkins to court but ultimately did not follow through. Despite the financial troubles, Hawkins has won nearly $4 million in offline tournaments. Dan Bilzerian claims to be one of the pioneers of the LAG (Loose-Aggressive) style of poker.