Demidov served as a precursor to this year’s Russian success at the World Series of Poker Europe where two players from his nation have made the final table.

Oh, but wait a moment, one of those two players is none other than Demidov himself. That’s right, while Demidov awaits play in next month’s World Series of Poker (Las Vegas) Final, he will be taking part in Thursday’s WSOPE final nine. For someone who only began playing poker in 2006 and has won a few thousand dollars on the live tournament circuit (just under $40,000 to date), Demidov could become one of the richest poker players by year’s end should he happen to win both World Series of Poker events. The WSOP pays first place $9.1 million while the World Series of Poker Europe will pay its first place winner just over $2.1 million.

Also sitting at the WSOPE final table is Russian Stanislav Alekhin. The relative unknown had the second largest number of chips at 1,278,000 heading into Friday’s showdown.

According to poker player Daniel Negreanu, The World Series of Poker has always attracted a competitive international field. Interestingly, this year’s World Series of Poker event in the US featured more players from Russia than ever before. Negreanu, who is competing with Demidov at the final table of the WSOPE, believes that Demidov has a good shot of winning the WSOP for his Russian homeland. It can be assumed Daniel feels differently about Demidov’s chances to win this year’s World Series of Poker Europe.

"Poker’s popularity is surging in Russia," Negreanu stated. "You can expect to see more Russian names winning on the European Poker Tour and other major international tournaments in coming years.

"Why are so many talented Russian players suddenly bursting on the poker scene? Maybe it’s because of the game of chess. Many years ago, Russian masters dominated their American counterparts in a different game of skill.

"That game, of course, was chess. The battles between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky were epic. And while poker isn’t quite at that point, we’re definitely headed in that direction."

Aside from Demidov and now Alekhin, Russians making a name for themselves on the international poker circuit include Kirill Gerasimov.

The 37-year old Gerasimov worked as an insurance salesman in Moscow, and started entering poker tournaments throughout Europe in 2001.

In May 2003, Gerasimov made his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table, finishing 6th in the $1,500 No Limit Hold-Em event and receiving a $24,000 prize.

He would return to the World Series of Poker in April 2004, making an appearance at two final tables: a 5th place finish ($30,060) in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold-Em event featuring Huck Seed and Tony Bloom, and a 2nd place finish ($100,000) in the $1,500 No Limit Hold-Em shootout event featuring John Juanda, Asher Derei and Daniel Negreanu.

He also made the money 4 times in the 2005 World Series of Poker, including a 2nd place finish ($108,775) in the seven-card stud tournament, and he also made the money in the $10,000 Main Event for the first time, with his 444th place finish earning $16,055.

Gerasimov made two final tables during the second season of the European Poker Tour (EPT), finishing 5th in London and 3rd in Deauville.

As of 2008, Gerasimov has made over $2,000,000 in live tournament winnings. Prior to Alex Kravchenko’s 2007 performance at the WSOP, Gerasimov was number one on the Russian all time winning list.

Speaking of which, Kravchenko is another 37-year old professional poker player based in Moscow, Russia. He made a huge impact during the 2007 World Series of Poker, cashing six times, including finishing fourth at the Main Event and the $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event where he won a WSOP bracelet. Kravchenko became the first Russian citizen in history to win a WSOP gold bracelet.

Kravchenko is a phenom on the European poker circuit. He’s also won the Austrian Masters Pot-Limit Championship and the Russian Pot-Limit Championship, both in 2001. He has cashed over 30 times with career winnings totaling $2,611,088.

Then there is the easy-to-pronounce Rafael "Ralph" Perry. Yes, he is from Russia and, yes, he changed his name from Rafael Perivoskin. Perry has won over $2,500,000 on the live poker circuit since 1992, most notably finishing third in the 2002 WSOP Main Event.

Like with the Americans, Russia also has its own celebrity players who were known for something else before they hit it big on the poker circuit. Yevgeny Kafelnikov has had a few impressive finishes at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Russia. He won two Grand Slam singles titles (one French Open and one Australian Open), four Grand Slam doubles titles, and the men’s singles gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Source: gambling911.com

But poker has topped third on that list, behind only NASCAR and the NFL, a couple of properties that are legendary for television audiences. Poker comes in ahead of baseball, basketball, and hockey. How do you think Gary Bettman feels about THAT?

Obviously, poker has experienced a boom that dates back to 2003, and what is now known as ‘The Moneymaker Effect’. That was the year that a 32-year-old accountant from Tennessee managed to satellite his way into the World Series of Poker Main Event for $39, and walk away with the title and $2.5 million dollars. And from the moment that WSOP hit television, every guy in the world thought to himself, ‘that could be me’.

The resulting poker boom was breathtaking, and the WSOP has taken on the air of a month long Superbowl. With first place money in the $10 million dollar neighbourhood. That’s a pretty nice neighbourhood, and a lot of people want to take a crack at moving in.

Because of this giant explosion in the world of poker, several interesting things happened. Professional poker players, formerly a bunch of leather assed Texas rounders if you believe pop culture, took on the status of rock stars. Previously anonymous pros now found themselves household names.

Last year, Canadian poker star Daniel Negreanu and I were walking through a mall to grab a bite to eat at a tournament. We were approached by a young man in his early twenties who asked Daniel if he would autograph his forearm. So that he could get it tattooed on permanently! You’re talking Wayne Gretzky/Gene Simmons country right there. Rock stars.

But here’s the big difference that makes poker so appealing: accessibility. If you are a tennis fan, can you play tennis with Roger Federer? No chance. If you’re a golfer, can you play a round with Tiger Woods? Not unless you’re a millionaire. But if you’re into poker, you can sit down at a poker table and find yourself staring across at Doyle Brunson, or Johnny Chan, or Phil Hellmuth. You actually get the opportunity to test yourself against the legends of the game. And that’s why millions of players every year bust their butts trying to qualify to play in a WPT or WSOP event. Well, that and the prize money.

You can’t turn the TV on anymore without finding poker on one station or another. Everyone is playing, from garbage men to movie stars, and they all share the dreams of World Championship bracelets and millions in prize money. And that dream is very much attainable.

Two years ago, a part time auto worker from Oshawa named Soren Turkewitsch won his way into a World Poker Tour event in Niagara Falls. Five days later, he was holding a trophy and a cheque for $1.3 million bucks. Not a bad payday for a few days work. Might even be more than GM was paying him.

The poker boom is still going strong. I spent most of July in Las Vegas at the 2008 World Series of Poker, and I can guarantee you that poker is still on the upswing. Numbers for the WSOP were huge this year, and look to be getting even bigger. The final table from the main event will be played in November, and whether it’s some Cinderella-story nobody from next door, or one of the mega rich superstars we see on television who wins it, you can be sure it will be fun to watch.

What I’m hoping to do with this space is give you a peek at something even MORE interesting than just the surface scratching that is done with poker on TV. The world of high stakes poker is overflowing with colourful characters and wild stories. Most of the time, the behind-the-curtain world of professional poker players is infinitely more interesting than the actual card playing you see on the little screen.

High roller lifestyles, young millionaires, old road dogs, and crazy prop bets are all part of day-to-day life. For example, the aforementioned Daniel Negreanu had a little side bet with Phil Ivey for this year’s World Series of Poker: $200,000 per bracelet. Since Daniel won a bracelet, and Phil didn’t, Ivey owes Negreanu 200K.

Think that’s crazy? How about a prop bet to spend 12 straight hours in a hotel pool for $25K. Or how about losing 50 pounds of body weight in one year for a hundred grand? These kinds of crazy bets are just part of daily life in the poker world.

Like Cat Stevens once said, ‘Oooh baby, it’s a wild world’. But it’s a fascinating and fun world too. Come on by and have a look beyond the looking glass. It’s all-in or nothing, and the game is on…

Chris Tessaro is the host of The Hardcore Poker Show, North American wide on Wednesday nights at 8 PM on Sirius 98. www.hardcorepokershow.com.

Source: torontosun.com