A Las Vegas judge has rejected most of Australian poker pro Matthew Kirk’s lawsuit against a casino owner and fellow gambler he claims owes him million. But he’s still got a couple more legal chips to play.
Kirk, “Aussie Matt,” as he’s known in international poker circles, and Leon Tsoukernik, who owns King’s Casino in the Czech Republic, were dueling in a high-stakes one-on-one match at Aria on the Las Vegas Strip last May when Tsoukernik ran out of the cash and, as is customary in big games, borrowed $3 million from Kirk at the table so the game could continue.
The loans were made in four chunks and were confirmed between the two in a series of text messages. Tsoukernik repaid $1 million about a week later but has refused to come across with the rest. Kirk sued him in June.
Apparently, no one involved disputes the loans were made. They were even captured in video surveillance at the casino. Tsoukernik, however, claims they are unenforceable gambling debts.
District Judge Linda Marie Bell agreed. “Whether in the form of casino chips, cash, or gold bars, Mr. Tsoukernik received a loan for wagering against Mr. Kirk,” she ruled, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
But she did not entirely dismiss the case, as Tsoukernik’s lawyer sought. Instead, she left room for Kirk to pursue him on the grounds of “fraudulent inducement” and/or “unjust enrichment,” the two claims she left intact.
Kirk’s attorney Richard Schonfeld said his client plans to do just that, telling the Review-Journal, “We’re pleased with the court’s ruling that we are able to maintain our lawsuit and seek damages from the defendant.”
Kirk isn’t the first player Tsoukernik allegedly has stiffed. Canadian Elton Tsang came out publicly in August to claim the casino owner owes him more than $2 million from a cash game in Barcelona last year. Tsoukernik has disputed that claim as well, according to the Review-Journal, alleging the game?which included big-time players of the likes of Dan Cates, Fedor Holz, Richard Yong, Peter Chan and Winfred Yu?was “strange and not fair.”
