Bobby Baldwin (pictured) won the WSOP Main Event in 1978, but Leon Tsoukernik says he now sets up whales to be cheated in poker at Aria.
Leon Tsoukernik’s lawyers filed a motion in court this week asking for a judge to delay action on the requirement Tsoukernik pay Matt Kirk’s legal fees in a counterclaim lawsuit. A Las Vegas judge tossed Leon Tsoukernik’s lawsuit against Aria casino and an Australian poker player in February and ordered the Czech casino owner to pay Kirk’s legal fees.
On Monday, Leon Tsoukernik made new claims in the original trial. His lawyers stated that the Aria, Matt Kirk, and Bobby Baldwin were involved in a “conspiracy” to cheat high rollers like himself.
Monday’s filing suggested that his legal team has learned new evidence since the last hearing about attempts to lure whales into compromising positions, then have poker pros beat them in high stakes card sessions.
In his latest court filings, Leon Tsoukernik, who owns the King’s Casino Europe in Rozvadov in the Czech Republic, claimed once again that the Aria’s staff and Matt Kirk conspired took advantage of him in order to collect $3 million in poker winnings.
Matt Kirk’s $2 Million Lawsuit
Matt Kirk filed the original lawsuit last summer, claiming Leon Tsoukernik owed him $2 million from a high-stakes, heads-up poker game that took place in the Vegas Strip Casino, Aria, in May 2017. In the poker session, Leon Tsoukernik lost $3 million, though witnesses testified to seeing the casino owner pay $1 million.
Later, Tsoukernik refused to pay the remainder of Kirk’s winnings. That led to the Australian poker pro filing a lawsuit in a Las Vegas district court. That suit continues to the present day with no resolution.
Leon Toukernick’s Countersuit
In late-2017, Leon Tsoukernik filed a countersuit against Matt Kirk and Aria. His lawyers claimed Tsoukernik was visibly drunk during the poker session and the Aria’s staff should have protected him from rampant gambling in his condition, as Nevada gaming laws require a casino to do. Eventually, Matt Kirk spotted Leon Tsoukernik millions of dollars in their poker game, then tried to collect on his IOU-backed winnings later.
The court filings claimed that Matt Kirk knew Leon Tsoukernik was inebriated, so he took advantage of his state of drunkeness to steal $3 million from him. He claimed that casino staff and Matt Kirk conspired to ply him with more alcohol, so he could not hold his cards at a point, but was manipulated into continuing play. Tsoukernik’s lawyers further claimed the casino mogul was fatigue from a long flight, further impairing his abilities.
Linda Bell Threw Out Counterclaim
That countersuit was thrown out in February 2018 by Clark County District Court Judge Linda Bell, who ordered Tsoukernik to pay Matt Kirk’s legal fees from the countersuit. Judge Bell noted that the Nevada Gaming Control Board usually handles matters involving like alcohol consumption in casinos’ gaming spaces, so such activity was beyond the purview of her courtroom.
Conspiracy: Matt Kirk, Bobby Baldwin, Aria Casino
In Monday’s court filing, Tsoukernik’s lawyers stated their client should have the “opportunity to amend his counterclaim based on the additional facts he received…along with other facts that may be developed during discovery.”
Tsoukernik’s lawyers allege that a “conspiracy…occurred after the poker game in question” which goes beyond the scope of Nevada’s regulators.
The plaintiff’s lawyers claimed that Bobby Baldwin backs, “[Matt] Kirk and other professional poker players to play against Aria casino ‘whale’ patrons”. Bobby Baldwin was the 1978 WSOP Main Event winner and currently is an executive at MGM Resorts, which owns Aria.
The court documents suggest that Leon Tsoukernik became upset during the settling of the debt and sent a text suggesting he would seek the help of “[Bobby] Baldwin and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte” to redress the wrong. Documents claim Tsoukernik also enlisted the help of Antanas “Tony G” Guoga, as well as UK card room owner Rob Young, in settling the dispute.
Settled Debt for $1 Million
In Tsourkenik’s motion, the casino owner further claimed he and Matt Kirk agreed to settle the debt for $1 million, due to Tsoukernik’s state during the latter stages of the game. He then claimed that someone at the casino, “believed to be Baldwin of the Aria”, convinced Matt Kirk to “renege on the deal”.
Judge Bell has not ruled on the new submissions. It could take months to see if Leon Tsoukernik’s latest filings will work, because the Kirk v. Tsoukernik trial does not get underway until April 2019.
