Bovada Poker News: NGCB Will “Monitor” Tsoukernik-Kirk Case

The gloves are off in the legal battle between Australian poker pro Matt Kirk and King’s Casino owner Leon Tsoukernik (you can read about it more here). This battle has escalated over the past few weeks, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board is paying close attention; NGCB chairman AG Burnett told Card Player magazine last week that his people will “monitor the proceedings,” and may conduct their own investigation if they so choose.

The case hinges on Tsoukernik’s claim that he was served too much alcohol at Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas when he lost $3 million to Kirk this past May playing heads-up poker. While current “dram shop” laws (established in 1995, in favor of Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City) do not allow gamblers to recover losses due to drunkenness, Burnett says there is an industry rule regarding “visibly intoxicated” players at the casino, and that the NGCB may take whatever disciplinary action it feels necessary based on that rule. In the courts, Kirk’s team has filed a motion to dismiss Tsoukernik’s $10-million countersuit, which was filed after Kirk sued for the $2 million he says Tsoukernik still owes him.

 

Libratus Earns “Best Use of AI” Award

The poker world was rocked in January when Libratus, the poker bot from Carnegie Mellon University, wiped the floor with four professional human players in heads-up no-limit Hold’em. Not only did Libratus win the “Brains vs. AI” competition, it was also honored earlier this month at the HPCwire Readers’ Choice Awards. Libratus took home the hardware for Best Use of AI, recognizing CMU’s accomplishment in defeating human players at heads-up NLHE for the first time. The computer defeated Jason Les, Dong Kim, Daniel McAulay and Jimmy Chou for an average of 14.7 big blinds per 100 hands.

 

More Poker Growth in Pennsylvania

More good news for poker in the Keystone State, as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has reported an uptick in revenues for the month of October. The 10 poker rooms across the state pulled in $4.8 million last month, up from $4.7 million in October 2016. There are five more poker rooms in Pennsylvania than there was last year – four of them at Parx Casino, which collected $1.4 million in rake. They should be joined sometime in 2020 by the Live! Hotel & Casino when it opens in South Philly.

Check out last week’s poker news here.