I decided before I read your post Bill.
And the verdict is...well, turns out a BVG slab isn't that much harder to open than PSA after all:
The lip that extends further out to cover up what are essentially two thicker slabs pushed together is the tricky part. Neither PSA or SGC has anything like that. But once you use wire cutters to get a corner of that lip off, the rest works pretty much the same with a flathead screwdriver, except you have to pry up the rest of that much thicker and more resistant lip around the edge. I'll give Beckett credit, theirs is the most difficult slab bar none - but I still got it open.
Below is a picture of the card in question now. I'm much happier.
-John