A chunk of Phil Ivey’s WSOP winnings, recently claimed by the Borgata in the edge-sorting saga, actually belong to Daniel “Jungleman” Cates and Ilya Trincher according to a new legal filing.
Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates Allegedly Staked Phil Ivey
Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates and highstakes cash game player Trincher claim that they staked Ivey at the WSOP, putting up the full $50,000 buy-in for him to play the Poker Players Championship.
The deal, a 50/50 split of profits as they state in the legal filing, means that $87,205 of the $124,410 Ivey took for 8th place in the event belongs to them.
Ivey’s winnings, as we reported recently, were garnished by the Borgata Casino after they were given legal recourse to hunt down Ivey’s assets and earnings in Nevada. This followed the long-running legal battle surrounding Ivey’s $10 million edge-sorting case.
Today’s news, broken by Flush Draw’s Haley Hintze, reveals Cates and Trincher had “an existing staking agreement” with Ivey.
Part of their legal objection to Borgata taking all of Phil Ivey’s WSOP cash states:
“Mr. Cates and Mr. Trincher had an existing staking Phiagreement with Mr. Ivey. On or about June 24, 2019, Mr. Cates and Mr. Trincher agreed to provide Mr. Ivey with the full $50,000 buy-in for a World Series of Poker tournament at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
It continues: “… specifically the $50,000 Poker Players Championship (Event #58) on June 24, 2019, in exchange for 50% of the winnings (in addition to the return of our $50,000 principal). On or about June 24, 2019, Mr. Trincher provided Mr. Ivey with said $50,000 for the buy-in pursuant to their existing staking agreement.”
The legal team behind Cates and Trincher’s objection, Chesnoff and Schonfeld, also filed chat messages between Cates and Trincher, discussing their backing of Ivey.
Borgata’s Also Coming for Phil Ivey’s Money
One of the problems the highstakes duo could face in persuading the courts to hand over their share of the money is that the Borgata hunt for Phil Ivey’s money has been well-documented.
Back in February of this year, the Borgata were given approval to extend their chase for Ivey’s assets into the state of Nevada, having lucked out in New Jersey.
Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates is, of course, a legendary figure in the poker world and needs no introduction. Ilya Trincher, however, may be less-well-known to casual poker fans.
Ilya Trincher is the son of WPT champion Vadim Trincher, (pictured below in the blue sweater on his arrest in 2013) the father-son duo jailed back in 2014 along with Ilya’s brother Eugene for their part in a massive illegal gambling operation.
He received a six-month sentence and ordered to forfeit $6.4million after the FBI brought down the illegal sportsbook with links to the Russian mafia.
Back at the Cates/Trincher court battle, the Borgata’s legal team have yet to respond publicly to the August 30th filing, but it seems that the Ivey edge-sorting saga has a ways to run yet.
One of the biggest questions for most poker players will be: why does Ivey, reputedly worth $100million, need to be fully-staked for a $50k tournament?
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