Kings Casino boss Leon Tsoukernik hit back against his detractors by launching a counter-claim against Australian poker player Matt Kirk and the Aria Casino, stating that: “I was taken advantage of and can no longer remain silent” with Kirk being portrayed as a house shill and the Aria purposely plying Tsoukernik with alcohol and basically preventing him from leaving the Ivey Room.

Leon, the multi-millionaire owner of the casino in the Czech Republic which is currently hosting the WSOP Europe, was taken to court by Kirk earlier this year amid hotly-disputed claims that he reneged on a $3million loan during a high-stakes heads-up match.

However, recently the majority of Kirk’s claims were thrown out of court and Leon has gone on the offensive, unhappy at having to endure “a significant amount of criticism from the poker community over the past several months” and now placing his trust in the US judicial system once more, in which he has “great confidence”.

During the heads-up battle back in May, Kirk loaned Tsoukernik $3million in chips during their late-might match, $1million of which the casino boss returned shortly afterwards, and his court filing today sheds some light on his reason for not paying back the other $2million.

In a statement today, Tsoukernik says:

“Before any legal pleading was filed, I chose to resolve this matter amicably, with the help of several of the most respected members of the poker community. But, 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.”


Tsoukernik claims he was plied with alcohol by Aria staff, to the point where he required help from both Kirk and the dealer to count his chips and was unable to even read his hand on many occasions, ‘rendering the game unfair, dishonest and non-competitive’.

He also alleges that Kirk, unknown to Tsoukernik at the time, ‘did not have the financial wherewithal to play at the levels at which he was playing’ and was instead being ‘funded and backed by others’. ...



https://www.pokertube.com/article/le...nd-aria-casino

(Just part of the pretty long article)