The World Series of Poker is about to begin and later this year, a few people are going to be millions of dollars richer. In 2008, Ivan Demidov was to be one of those skilled and fortunate players, as he finished second to Peter Eastgate in the WSOP Main Event, the first time the world was introduced to the concept of the November Nine. But, in what was a staking deal gone sideways, Demidov never received the $5.8 million he was due.
Though he did not elaborate on the how’s or why’s, Demidov told Allinmag.com in an article published last week that a rogue backer was the cause of his missing paycheck. “That second place has changed my life completely, but not because of the money I won, as I haven’t received any,” he said. “That’s a long and dark story, but basically my backer did not pay me and I ended up not getting any prize money.”
That’s it. That is the extent of what he will divulge on the matter. We do not know what happened in the deal to make Demidov lose out on millions, but whatever it was, it still has not been resolved.
Back in 2009, Demidov gave a little more information on the basic staking arrangement to Poker Player Magazine, but again, no real details as to why he was never paid. In the year prior to his WSOP Main Event run (he also finished third in the WSOP Europe Main Event a month before the November Nine, but we don’t know if he ran into the same problems with his backer in that one), he had been enjoying success playing online poker when he gained the attention of a high stakes poker player, a fellow Russian. The person offered to back him and some other players in what was right off the bat a pretty bad deal for Demidov. Though the backer was footing the entire bill, Demidov would have to give him 80 percent of his winnings. That’s pretty awful. But in the interview, Demidov essentially said he was in a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation; he was thrilled just to be staked.
He headed off to Vegas shortly thereafter and lost $150,000. It wasn’t his money, but it was still disheartening. Demidov stopped playing for a few months and when he got back to it, he figured his backer wasn’t going to have anything to do with him anymore. But one day he got a phone call from the unnamed backer, who said, “Do you still have your visa? Be ready to go [to the World Series].”
“I was really surprised and happy,” Demidov said.
Despite a slow World Series leading up to the Main Event, his gigantic score in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship tourney certainly rewarded the faith Demidov’s backer had in him. But for whatever reason, something went wrong with whatever financial arrangement Demidov and the mystery man had made and Demidov has yet to see a dime from that runner-up check.
In the 2009 interview, Demidov said, “I’m not broke but it’s not like I’m set for life. I have problems with my backer and a lot of people owe me money so actually things aren’t that great. I trusted people too much and I’m paying for it now.”
It remains to be seen if we will ever know what happened. Today, at least, Demidov says he is happy. “I was contracted by PokerStars and was able to open a popular website in Russia, all that thanks to my second-place finish,” he told Allinmag.com. “That gave me the bankroll and freedom to play what I want and to do what I want. And that’s what I always dreamed of.”
