Gambler trumps himself

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A man who won $44,000 playing poker at an Auckland casino was refused the jackpot because he had banned himself from the premises for gambling too much.

Sothea Sinn, 28, won the prize playing Caribbean stud poker at Auckland’s Skycity Casino on Wednesday but casino staff refused to pay, saying he was banned at his own request, the Dominion-Post newspaper reported.

“I was absolutely gutted,” Sinn said.

Sinn said that in 2004 he demanded the casino ban him and his girlfriend because he was gambling too much. He said he thought the ban had expired.

Sinn said he would take his case to New Zealand gambling authorities.