Golden Globe-winning actress Awkwafina is set to star as edge-sorting queen Cheung Yin 'Kelly' Sun in a movie depicting the real-life $multi-million gambling scheme she devised with Phil Ivey.
The incredible run Ivey and Sun went on saw them take Crockfords Casino in London and the Borgata in Atlantic City for roughly $10million each, using an edge-sorting technique perfected by Sun.
SK Global’s movie will be based on Michael Kaplan’s article ‘The Baccarat Machine’, which focused on Sun’s remarkable life – the Ivey adventures just a small, though highly significant, part of it.
The Ivey Saga
As most readers will know by now, Ivey unsuccessfully sued Crockfords when they refused to pay out the massive winnings, and although the Borgata did pay up, they later successfully sued Ivey and are now chasing his assets throughout various US states.
Ivey’s WSOP winnings last summer were put on hold and transferred to the US Marshal’s Service after the Borgata turned up at the Rio with a writ in hand.
In an unexpected twist to the tale, Daniel 'Jungleman' Cates and highstakes amateur Ilya Trincher filed a countersuit claiming they were owed half of Ivey’s winnings as his financial backers for the buy-ins.
The Perfect Fit
Although no-one has yet been named for the role of Ivey, casting Awkwafina - the star of The Farewell who also has a Comedy Central series “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” - is a perfect fit.
“We can’t think of a better way to start this project than by announcing that our friend Awkwafina has come on board,” SK Global co-CEO John Penotti told Variety this week.
He added:
“She is uniquely equipped to bring Kelly to life onscreen and will infuse the role with genuine humor and humanity. Along with our partners at Sharp, we’re thrilled to bring this unbelievable story to the screen.”