Leon Tsoukernik, the majority owner of King's Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, has reportedly sold his interest in parent company, King's Entertainment Group and plans to step away from the casino operations business for at least the near future.
Prominent German-language poker site Hochgepokert reported on Tsoukernik's exit from the King's family of gambling-destination properties, which also include King's Resort Hotel , King's Casino Prague and the Admiral Casino Rozvadov.
According to Hochgepokert, Tsoukernik has sold his interest to the company's other two shareholders, Scott Hanna and an unnamed third investor. The German poker-news outlet estimated the deal to be in the range of "300 to 400 million euros."
King's home to WSOP Europe series
King's Resort, formerly known as King's Casino, has hosted the WSOP Europe festival since 2017. The relationship between King's and Tsoukernik and the World Series of Poker stretches further back, beginning with a WSOP Circuit stop in 2015. King's has also had a prominent footprint on the WSOP floor in recent years, consisting of a spacious high-stakes cash-game area and a comfort zone for players -- especially for Euro pros who have frequented Kings -- to rest from the nearby WSOP activity.
Leon Tsoukernik at the 2022 EPT PragueTsoukernik, 50, a native of Moscow, Russia who is now a Czech citizen, has also been an occasional participant in super-high-roller tourneys and other prestigious poker events around the globe, something he told Hochgepokert he plans to do more of in the near future.
The Hendon Mob's online database credits "Loose Leon" (so named for his very aggressive style of play) with a healthy $5.33 million in recorded lifetime tourney cashes. Tsoukernik's highest recorded career payday of $1.8 million came for a fourth-place run in the 2017 $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl, but his second-highest cash carries a special note of its own.
In the 2019 WSOP Europe series at King's, Tsoukernik won the $100,000 NLH Super High Roller for $1,231,519. The tourney was not denoted as a bracelet event, however, due to the expected small number of entrants. The event drew 18 distinct entries who also chipped in 19 $100K rebuys, and when the last cards had been tossed, Tsoukernik scored the biggest payday, while Phil Ivey, Paul Phua and Cary Katz also cashed.
Tsoukernik has occasionally been ensnared in controversy at the tables as well. A messy situation involving the non-payment of a $3 million cash-game debt allegedly owed by Tsoukernik to Aussie pro Matt Kirk eventually resulted in a lawsuit by Kirk and a countersuit by Tsoukernik before the entire matter was tossed out of a Nevada court. Dusk Til Dawn founder Rob Yong, another participant in the elite, private games, later went public with his account of what transpired, including his attempt to broker a deal.
Feature image courtesy of Triton Poker/Joe Giron
