LAS VEGAS -- Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate emerged from a marathon session early Monday morning at the World Series of Poker and will meet later in the night to settle the $9.15 million title.
Eastgate, a 22-year-old poker professional from Odense, Denmark, eliminated the last American in the field with a set of threes. Dennis Phillips, who tried to bluff Eastgate with a 10 high, shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head when Eastgate made the call that eliminated him.
"I just want to be alive on the river," Phillips said before an ace came on the turn, officially eliminating the 53-year-old trucking account manager who started the final table with the chip lead.
Phillips, of Cottage Hills, Ill., won $4,517,773 for third place.
Eastgate held 79.5 million chips, nearly 22 million chips more than Demidov, a 27-year-old semiprofessional poker player from Moscow.
"My hands held up all the time -- that's the key factor," Eastgate said.
Those big hands, including two full houses and a set, helped Eastgate end the tournament for four players.
Ylon Schwartz finished fourth and won $3,774,974 after failing on a bluff, giving Eastgate a lead over Demidov. Scott Montgomery watched Eastgate hit a full house on the river, after Montgomery picked up three aces on the turn.
"I saw it coming," said Montgomery, 26, of Perth, Ontario. He won $3,096,768 for fifth place, and Eastgate moved right behind Demidov.
Demidov, unlike Eastgate, did not eliminate any players from the final table. But he made plenty of moves from the start, overtaking the lead from Phillips and making a bet that would have put Phillips all-in for the first time at the final table.
"I'm more confident," said Demidov, an online poker whiz who spent four months up to Sunday night getting more accustomed to live poker games.
He finished third at the main event of the World Series of Poker Europe in September.
Darus Suharto failed on a last-ditch effort to add to his short stack of chips when he lost an all-in bet to Montgomery. Montgomery ended Suharto's tournament by hitting a fourth spade on the turn to make a flush. Suharto won $2,418,562 for sixth place.
