KEY POINTS:
New Zealand Idol winner Matt Saunoa has been barred from Auckland's SkyCity casino after he was seen paying cash to another man who has also been banned.
Saunoa, the high-rating reality show's reigning champion, was pulled from the gaming floor and police called in after casino staff saw him pass money to a man who was then seen passing something back.
Saunoa was strip-searched but nothing was found.
The singer, who built garages in Levin before finding television fame, told the Weekend Herald he had been wrongly accused by the casino and wants the two-year trespass order overturned.
"They [casino security] tried to tell me that I passed over money and he passed something back. I said, 'Look, I owed him money', and my story is true".
Saunoa admitted paying money to the man to settle a debt.
Casino security remained concerned and barred Saunoa for "undesirable behaviour". The other man has also been barred.
SkyCity yesterday confirmed the incident and directed further queries to the police.
The incident last month was uncovered by a Weekend Herald investigation into loan sharks and other alleged criminal activity, such as money-laundering, at the casino.
Saunoa, 22, a genial giant of a singer who was once unable to jump off the Sky Tower as a publicity stunt because he exceeded its 125kg weight limit, has a pregnant partner and a son. He said he knew the man from "a time way before Idol" but refused to identify him.
"I don't know him personally or anything. He did me a favour and lent me some money and I did my part and paid the money back.
"I had no idea of his track record and background."
Asked how he got into debt with the man, Saunoa said he once needed a loan because, "to be completely honest, I had nowhere to go, no food".
The money he was paying back was not "thousands - it was more like 80".
Saunoa, who denied being a drug user, has been on the gig circuit since winning the third and final Idol last year.
He performed for SkyCity at the Starlight Symphony the company put on for free in the Auckland Domain this year.
His No 1 single, Hold Out, was the TV One theme song over the summer.
Saunoa is appearing on TV2 reality show Pop's Ultimate Star and is in the final four of the competition.
TVNZ said the casino incident was "not of sufficient importance" to have a bearing on the show.
