On October 16 Monday, a Nevada judge said that a lawsuit filed by high-stakes Australian poker player Matt Kirk versus Czech casino owner Leon Tsoukernik can proceed.
The local judge states that the $2 million debt is unenforceable; however, if he can somehow prove that Tsoukernik never intended to pay back the money, Kirk could be entitled to receive compensation for the damages.
If his lawyers can show to the court "fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment" that transpired on the May 27 game at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Kirk would be entitled to get back the money. It isn't clearly stated if alcohol was involved.
According to the lawsuit that Kirk filed in June during the yearly World Series of Poker events, Tsoukernik apparently lost $3 million to Kirk in a matter only an hour of heads-up play. Kirk claims that Tsoukernik paid back only $1 million.
There were 10 claims from the lawsuit, but the judge only acknowledged two of them and threw out the rest, leaving the two claims of fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment. Kirk's lawyers describe the instances when Kirk slid chips across the felt to Tsoukernik as ‘business loans'.
As stated in the lawsuit, Tsoukernik paid back $1 million after cashing in for $1.8 million in a tournament a few days after their late-night high-stakes poker game. Also, the suit claims that Tsoukernik asked to borrow money from Kirk even though he beat Kirk for $1.5 million the day before.
Tsoukernik owns the King's Casino located in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, which is going to be the home of the upcoming World Series of Poker Europe, scheduled to kick off October 19 Thursday and ends November 10.
Tsoukernik's poker room in King's Casino is considered one of the biggest in Europe.
Source:
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/judge-splits-decision-on-3m-exchange-at-las-vegas-poker-table/
http://www.wsop.com/2017/wsope/
