Vegas Judge Rejects Leon Tsoukernik’s Lawsuit Against Matt Kirk ‘Without Prejudice’, Asks for More Evidence

The latest round in the ongoing $multi-million court battle between high-stakes players Leon Tsoukernik and Matt Kirk went in favour of the Australian yesterday, a District Judge in Vegas rejecting a countersuit which claimed that Kirk had conspired with the Aria Casino and ‘taken advantage’ of Tsoukernik – but leaving the door open for the King’s Casino boss to bring more evidence to court.

The legal fight was sparked last June after Kirk claimed that Tsoukernik had refused to pay $2million from a total of $3million in loans he had given the casino boss during a heads-up battle at the Bobby Baldwin-run Ivey Room in the Aria the previous month.

Eight out of the ten claims Kirk made in his filing were subsequently thrown out by District Judge Linda Bell, but it was the same judge presiding this week as Tsoukernik’s counterclaims were examined, Tsoukernik going on the offensive last November claiming:

“As a result of the behaviour of Matthew Kirk and the third-party defendant, I was taken advantage of and can no longer remain silent.”

The Czech high roller’s claims that Kirk was surreptitiously financially backed by the Aria were rejected by the judge, however, who stated:

“What does that matter, if he’s an independent poker player, where he gets his money from?” She added: “That’s not something that any person gambling is required to tell any other person gambling. How can, on the face, that be fraud?”

Tsoukernik’s legal team, headed by Peter Bernhard and Lesley Miller, argued that Kirk “fraudulently conspired with Aria representatives to place Mr. Tsoukernik in that vulnerable situation,” claiming:

“It was how the game itself was executed, not the simple request of participating in the game.”

In dismissing the claims ‘without prejudice’, Judge Bell made it clear that Tsoukernik’s legal team would have to bring detailed evidence to court to back up their claims. This could, in theory, take the form of signed affidavits or witness testimony relating to the discussions which Kirk and Tsoukernik had in the days following the disputed late-night game, including talks which Dusk Till Dawn boss Rob Yong was a party to.

Tsoukernik’s lawsuit included details of a meeting to discuss settlement of the $3million loan from Kirk, the court filing reading:

"That afternoon of May 27 [Rob] Yong, Kirk and Tsoukernik met at the Liquid Pool at the Aria, where Kirk and Tsoukernik confirmed the discount, and Kirk shook hands with Tsoukernik confirming the settlement, in Yong's presence."

For the defence, one of Kirk’s lawyers - Richard Schonfeld – told the court that there was no law requiring his client to reveal the source of his funding for the high-stakes game at the centre of the dispute.

District Judge Bell ordered Tsoukernik to pay Kirk’s legal fees and stated that the Nevada Gaming Control Board was the correct institution to decide on complaints against the Aria, Tsoukernik also claiming that representatives of the casino physically prevented his friends from being allowed to persuade him to leave the Ivey Room.

Neither man has so far publicly commented on this week’s court ruling, nor has the Nevada Gaming Control Board which may yet have to decide on some of the issues raised, but the dispute seems likely to continue in the Vegas courts for some time to come.