Luciaetta Ivey: Phil Ivey’s Low-Profile Ex-Wife And Life After Poker Fame

When poker icon Phil Ivey was dominating Las Vegas card rooms in the early 2000s, his then-wife, Luciaetta Ivey, watched from the rail, far from the gaze of television cameras. That changed in December 2009, when news leaked that their split came with a staggering $180,000-a-month alimony settlement, a $1.2-million purse collection, and more than $1 million in jewelry. The amounts were so large they eclipsed the majority of tournament prize pools, immediately turning a private wife into a headline figure.

Yet Luciaetta, however, is not a story of money alone. From court records later revealed that Phil had donated $5,000 to the campaign of the same judge who signed their divorce decree, prompting Luciaetta to fight her case all the way to the Nevada Supreme Court and igniting a legal ethics scandal that continues to appear in law-school textbooks.
Over a decade later, Luciaetta has recreated her life in Tampa, Florida, without fanfare. From establishing her own limited-liability corporation to flirting with real-estate flips, she shows how someone can shift from the limelight to business ventures while leaving the poker community in suspense. This extended biography compiles the most credible public documents to create a clear, eighth-grade-friendly picture of an endlessly fascinating individual.

Quick Bio

Who Is Luciaetta Ivey?

Luciaetta M. Ivey is best known publicly as the former wife of 11-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Ivey. The couple married on May 19, 2002, at a quaint Las Vegas chapel after meeting on the East Coast in the late 1990s. Throughout their seven-year marriage, the couple’s lifestyle followed Phil’s shooting-star rise—from low-stakes cash games to seven-figure sponsorship deals—placing Luciaetta in a world of private jets and high-roller suites few have the opportunity to see.

Her public profile soared only after the couple filed for divorce together on December 22, 2009. Before long, the terms of the settlement, which was under seal, got out: bags worth over $1.2 million, monthly spousal support of $180 k, and a straightforward division of several brokerage accounts. sheer size of the numbers made Luciaetta a buzz on both poker forums and the general tabloids.

Early Life

Unlike Phil, whose every tournament is chronicled on ESPN, Luciaetta’s pre-marriage life is largely undocumented. What we can find: corporate filings give her complete legal name as Luciaetta M. Ivey. Neighbors told local real-estate blogs that she moved to Florida shortly after the divorce, wanting to escape Las Vegas media attention.

Friends who spoke anonymously to Las Vegas reporters recalled that Luciaetta first met Phil in Atlantic City, where they bonded over their love of travel and fine dining. Those origins, long before Full Tilt Poker checks arrived in the mail, point to a relationship founded on personal chemistry rather than celebrity—a difference lost in salacious headlines.

Career Beginnings

During their marriage, Luciaetta’s “job” was managing household finances and co-signing investment vehicles that were linked to sponsorship earnings for Phil. Court documents disclose she was a named beneficiary on multiple stock accounts—evidence that she was playing an active, if silent, part in wealth management.

Following the divorce, she went into solo business, registering LMR Ventures, LLC in Florida on April 26, 2011. While the business line of the company is not specified, annual reports filed through 2015 suggest consulting or real-estate activities—pursuits consistent with Tampa neighbors’ claims that she advises on boutique property flips.

Who Is Luciaetta Ivey’s Ex-Husband?

Phil Ivey, nicknamed the “Tiger Woods of Poker,” boasts 11 WSOP bracelets, a World Poker Tour title, and over $47 million in live-tournament victories. His aggressive playing style and global endorsements helped the couple earn an estimated $8 million in 2008 alone, setting the stage for a record divorce settlement the next year.

The marriage officially ended in a sealed order signed by Judge William Gonzalez. Months later, Luciaetta learned of Phil’s $5,000 contribution to Gonzalez’s re-election campaign and appealed to reopen the entire case on the basis of potential judicial bias. Although Nevada’s highest court ultimately denied her appeal, the saga remains a precedent-setting case of campaign-finance ethics butting up against family law.

Luciaetta Ivey’s Physical Appearance

Public photographs portray Luciaetta as a petite woman with dark hair and brown eyes, typically dressed in understated designer clothing. The impression of high style is in keeping with court-documented assets that included a stash of high-end handbags valued at $1.2 million and jewelry worth over $1 million.

When Phil’s tournaments were broadcast, she could occasionally be spotted in the high-roller lounges wearing designer cocktail dresses and diamond accessories—visual cues that enabled poker fans to identify her even before any legal scandal arose. Those photographs, now archived on Pinterest boards and poker sites, are among her enduring aura of understated glamour.

Net Worth

While exact figures are private, the divorce settlement offers clues. Luciaetta took home millions in property, half of the proceeds from the sale of a Las Vegas house, 40 percent of certain brokerage accounts, and that famous $180 k-per-month alimony stream—payments that ran from January 2010 through April 2011.

Financial-blog estimates her current net worth to be in the low eight-figure range, founded on conservative investment of the lump-sum assets. Phil’s fortune, in the meantime, remains around $100 million, which means Luciaetta could be due for another windfall if new evidence ever reopens asset division.

Social Media

In stark contrast to Phil’s 650,000-plus Instagram followers (@philivey), Luciaetta has no verified social-media accounts—a real anomaly in our hyper-connected era. Occasional searches yield impostor accounts or craft-store accounts with no connection to her, which reinforces the notion that she values privacy over publicity.

Nevertheless, her name still trends on poker Twitter when there are fresh court filings or Phil wins a major title. In those moments, old wedding or courtside photos—like the one in this story—have a tendency to recirculate, demonstrating that even a recluse cannot fully escape the internet’s memory.

Future Prospects and Vision

Legal experts note that Luciaetta’s chance to reopen the divorce erodes with the passage of each year, especially in the aftermath of a 2013 Nevada Supreme Court decision that allowed the original settlement to stand. Lawyers have said she could bring civil actions if previously secret assets were uncovered, though—an option that still powers poker gossip sites.

Below the litigation radar, Luciaetta appears focused on Florida real-estate investments and local charity. Westchase neighbors mention her sponsorship of local charity events and sporadic consultation on high-end home remodels, indicating a future based in business, not courtroom wars.