Judge holds cards in poker dispute

THE DOMINION POST

WINNING STREAK: 2005 Melbourne poker champion Jamil Dia says he had no agreement to share his winnings with his old friend Constantine Harach(inset).

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One of New Zealand's top poker players has fallen out with a man described as being like his brother, over a claim they had an agreement to share thousand of dollars in tournament winnings.

Lawyers for the two Lebanese immigrants, bakery owner Jamil Dia and hairdresser Constantine Harach, have clashed five times in court since Mr Dia won more than $500,000 at Melbourne's Crown Casino in January 2005.

Over the years the two men had competed in professional poker games as far away as Russia.

Sometimes they shared the winnings, but not the Melbourne loot, and it has rankled with Mr Harach ever since.

The two have fallen out bitterly. Mr Harach claims they had agreed to share 20 percent of each other's winnings, a claim denied by Mr Dia.

So far the courts have said Mr Dia holds the winning hand in the legal battle, the fifth round of which played out in the High Court at Wellington yesterday.

Mr Harach had appealed against the decision of a district court judge, who was not convinced the two men had agreed to share the Melbourne winnings.

Justice Forrie Miller reserved his decision yesterday.

Earlier in the case another professional player had told a court that players formed partnerships or percentage swap agreements to spread the risk of losing.

In the same Melbourne tournament from which Mr Harach says he should have received $100,000 of Mr Dia's winnings, Mr Dia paid $75,000 to another friend, Dino Focas.

It was a handsome return for Mr Focas agreeing to pay 15 per cent, or $1500, of the $10,000 tournament entry fee in return for 15 per cent of the winnings.

Mr Dia's lawyer, Andrew Davie, said his client paid Mr Focas promptly, which showed that Mr Dia paid his debts.

But Mr Harach's lawyer, Simon Meikle, said it was not clear why the district court judge had preferred Mr Dia's version of events that the two men had stopped sharing their winnings in 2002.

In the wake of the Melbourne fallout, Mr Dia had first resorted to the courts, suing Mr Harach for repayment of about $38,000 he said he lent Mr Harach.

At first Mr Harach said the money he was given repaid a debt Mr Dia owed.

He later said he had pretended that he was hard up as a ruse to get some of what he was owed from the Melbourne winnings.

Mr Dia won that argument, but it took the threat of bankruptcy proceedings to persuade Mr Harach to repay the loan.

- © Fairfax NZ News