Rob Yong Reveals Truth Behind Leon Tsoukernik & Matt Kirk's $3Million Loan
6 years ago13 Nov
Dusk âTil Dawn casino owner Rob Yong has weighed in on the $multi-million Matt Kirk versus Leon Tsoukernik legal case, offering his version of the events which followed a late night heads-up match between the Aussie pro and the Kingâs Casino owner.
In a blog post entitled âWhat happens in Vegas stays in Vegas [NOT]â, Yong recounts the aftermath of the match which saw Kirk win $3million from Tsoukernik, which the Australian followed up by raising a legal action claiming the Czech high-roller was refusing to pay his debts.
âArticles referencing my involvement in brokering a deal between Matt Kirk and Leon Tsoukernik have some inaccuracies, so I will tell the poker community the stone cold facts,â wrote Yong, two days after Tsoukernik launched a counterclaim in a Nevada court, seeking more than $10million in damages and naming the Aria Casino as a third party litigant.
âI was sound asleep when the Leon Matty game happened,â Yong states, having himself been playing in the Ivey Room at the Aria until the early hours of May 27th this year, but later that morning he says âMatty came over and told me that he had won $3M heads-up off Leon last night and was worried about being paid.â
Kirk then explained to Yong that he âdidnât want to hit and run Leonâ and was âheavily pressured by Leon to continueâ after the Czech casino mogul got extremely drunk, Tsoukernik blaming staff at the Aria for his condition and claiming that their role in the match rendered the âunfair, dishonest and non-competitiveâ.
What is not in dispute is the fact that Kirk loaned Tsoukernik $3m, although Yong âdidnât understand why Leon would loan (sic: borrow) money to playâ as he had â$4M + on deposit from roulette winningsâ.
Yong continued:
âMatty asked me what he should do. I replied, âI am sure Leon will pay you in full but if you feel a bit bad, and want to give him a small discount as a goodwill gesture that would also be okayâ. Matty asked me what discount. I replied after some consideration, âMaybe $2M cash and play heads-up for the $1M.â
Backing up Tsoukernikâs claim this week that Kirk agreed to a settlement deal, Yong says:
âMatty agreed and asked me to propose this settlement to Leon. Matty wanted to settle today before playing Leon again as this was a large sum of money.â
According to Yong, Tsoukernik told him:
âTell Matty not to worry, I donât remember much but whatever I lost I will pay todayâ and when Yong explained the offer Leon replied âfine, whatever Matty wantsâ.â Yong adds that he âshouted Matty over and Leon and Matty hugged and shook hands on this $2M + $1M heads up deal.â
The story gets really interesting at this point, touching on something which Tsoukernik has mentioned several times in his legal counter-claim â namely that someone was behind Kirkâs bankroll and his decision to renege on the deal Yong claims to have brokered.
Yong says that:
â20 minutes later Matty called me over ⌠he was on the phone to someone. Matty told me âThere is no deal, Leon has to pay the full $3Mâ. I asked why and he told me the person on the phone has said âno dealâ and it was âout of his handsâ.
Tsoukernik apparently was enraged at this turn of events, telling Yong:
âThis is ridiculous, you get me out of bed after 2 hours sleep, I donât remember anything but I agree to everything, I even offer to get the money brought here now, I shake hands and now you tell me this!â
Writing, âI was wishing I had never got involved: Leon was happy to pay the $3M, Matty was a total gentlemen offering Leon a discount, and somehow this had all gone wrong. I will never get a job in politicsâ, Yong returned to the UK, but was called a few days later.
âMy phone rang and it was Leon and Matty on speakerphone. Leon said âMyself and Matt are here at the Rio Cage, we have agreed a settlement and we would like you to be a witness to it. I am giving Matt $1M and he accepts this as a full and final settlement for the game.â
A surprised Yong replied: 'Eh, $1M, are you serious! Matty, WTFâ but Kirk assured him, âYes, itâs fine, we are all settled, I want to move onâ.
âI couldnât believe what I was hearing, but at the end of the day, they just wanted me to witness the settlement and I was sick of being involved so I just said âfine, I have witnessed itâ, says Yong.
Later that same night the Australian Skyped Yong and was âabsolutely fumingâ, telling the Dusk Til Dawn man âhe didnât care about the money now and he was going to use the $1M to ruin Leonâs reputation in the poker worldâ - furious with Leon who apparently told him:
âThis is a lesson for you, you shouldnât loan money to drunk peopleâ.
After Leonâs own legal claims were made public, Yong says he messaged Kirk who âtold me his lawyer had told him that he could no longer speak to me.â
In closing his blog revelations, Yong states of his role:
âI have sought advice from close friends in the poker world whose opinions I respect. I am comfortable with the advice that I gave Matty at Liquid and have confirmation from persons present in Iveyâs Room that Leonâs condition had deteriorated to such an extent that at one point he folded the winning hand, however I was not present while the game took place so all I could do was suggest a solution based on the facts presented to me with no bias towards either party and I would be happy to appear in court in Nevada and repeat this word for word under oath on behalf of either Mattâs or Leonâs attorney.â
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