Poker star in court after win

3rd July 2009

©iStockphoto/StanRohrer

A TOP New Zealand poker player has been dragged through the courts by his closest card-playing mate after a big cash haul at a Melbourne casino.

Lebanese men Jamil Dia and Constantine Harach used to be the best of friends, playing competitively for years as afar afield as Russia, often agreeing to share each others wins and losses to spread the gambling risk.

But it all turned sour for the Wellington immigrants at Melbourne's Crown Casino in January 2005 and the saga has been playing out in Kiwi courts ever since.

As the facts go, Mr Dia, a bakery owner, won more than NZ$700,000 ($A554,000) that day at the casino when he was crowned 2005 Australian poker champion.

Mr Harach, a hairdresser, was rankled by the win and has claimed since that they'd agreed this time to share 20 per cent of each other's winnings, a claim denied by Mr Dia.

The pair are now locked in a bitter dispute that has ended up in court five times to date, the Dominion Post newspaper reports.

Mr Dia appears to have the winning hand this time around, with a District Court judge unconvinced that the two men did have an agreement.

But Mr Harach appealed against the decision in New Zealand's High Court on Thursday. Justice Forrie Miller has reserved his decision.