PokerFaceNews brings you today’s Three Way Action which highlights the lawsuit that Phil Ivey has filed against a London casino, Chris Moorman and Paul Volpe’s decision to leave Lock Poker, and MGM Resorts’ casino proposal submission in Maryland.

Phil Ivey Goes After The Crockfords Casino In London

A month after the Poker God Phil “Polarizing” Ivey took down his 9th WSOP bracelet at the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific, he makes it onto the headlines once again as he confirmed suing the British casino Crockfords in London. Last Tuesday, the poker legend’s legal team filed the lawsuit at the High Court of London in Ivey’s attempt of finally acquiring his earnings, which amounted to more than ?7 million, after riding a huge heater from Crockfords Casino in August 2012.

Due to the huge amount of money in question, the Crockfords Casino first suspected cheating during play. However, after a thorough investigation on the issue last year, no evidence of misconduct during the game surfaced. According to reports, Ivey acknowledged the fact that he was given a receipt for $12.1 million in winnings from playing Punta Banco – a high-stakes form of baccarat relying on luck from the said casino. However, the Crockfords purportedly withheld the money.

“I am deeply saddened that Crockfords has left me no alternative but to proceed with legal action following its decision to withhold my winnings,” Ivey stated last Tuesday. “I have much respect for Gentings, which has made this a very difficult decision for me. Over the years I have won and lost substantial sums at Crockfords and I have always honoured my commitments.”

Moorman and Volpe: No Longer Lock Poker Pros

Amidst the hustle and bustle in the world of poker, all eyes zeroed in on Lock Poker when two of its sponsored pros – one of the best online MTT players Chris Moorman and American poker pro Paul Volpe – refused to renew their contracts with the website due to recent issues. The termination of Volpe and Moorman’s contracts had a sense of urgency since their names have both been dropped from Lock Poker’s list of sponsored pros on Wednesday, with both poker pros openly announcing the status of their sponsorship via Twitter. Moorman tweeted,

1/2 I have decided not to renew my contract with Lock. I sincerely hope Lock is able to overcome its current problems and…

– Chris Moorman (@Moorman1) May 7, 2013

In an almost identical tweet, Volpe also said,

1/2 also wanted to say i have left @lockpoker . wanted to thank them 4 giving me the opportunity. hope poker becomes legal and they can

– paul volpe (@paulgees81) May 8, 2013

According to some sources, after Day 3 of the EPT Grand Final, Volpe was asked what his reason was for leaving Lock Poker. He merely replied that, “If people aren’t getting paid, then I don’t want to be either”.

Out of Lock Poker’s 21 prominent players, two of them have left. However, aside from Moorman and Volpe, one more poker pro Jason Young, has recently been removed from the list as well. Nonetheless, the rest of Lock Poker Elite Pro members have stayed loyal to the brand. According to reports, two other Lock Poker pros that are less widely known have been removed from its current roster. As of the recent count, Lock Poker’s roster now holds 27 players from the original 32.

MGM Resorts Files License Proposal For A Casino In Maryland

With the increase in demand of casinos and gambling in the country, several states have decided to expand their reach to generate more income for their growing cities. One of the states noted to do so is Maryland, where another gambling giant – MGM Resorts International – has lodged a license proposal to develop a high-end casino in Prince George’s County. MGM will be going up against Penn National Gaming which proposed a Las Vegas-style gambling facility in the state.

Meanwhile, MGM will be building a state-of-the-art destination resort-casino that will stand on a 20-acre land in National Harbor on the Potomac River. At the moment, MGM is waiting for the go signal to deliver an oral presentation to the Commission this summer. As stated by MGM National Harbor’s President Lorenzo Creighton, “We have said all along, our company will work tirelessly to earn the privilege to operate this license.”

Creighton further added that the company promises to see through the foundation of the new casino to help provide thousands of jobs to locals and bring forth enormous benefits to the region’s economy.