Shocking details shared on Evander Kane’s principal reasons he lost so much money

In late January, Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane faced trials next in a San Jose, Calif., bankruptcy courtroom as his Chapter 7 proceeding reached a pivotal moment.

On Wednesday, Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic put out details from the judicial papers filed last week, in which we find out that Kane wagered sometimes as often as 50 times a day.

The Oilers’ star forward shared surprising details on his spiralling debt in spite of overall career earnings that have reached $76 million. In the documents, Kane’s family background was laid out and pointed to his upbringing and the fact that he got rich at a young age, leading to a gambling addiction, which he revealed for the first time is the principal reason he lost so much money.

“Kane was drafted by his first team when he was seventeen years old, and he began playing professional hockey straight out of high school at the age of eighteen,” his lawyers wrote in the post-trial brief, which the judge requested after the trial, which took place on Jan. 23 and 25. “He has never taken any college or college-level courses, nor any courses or training about accounting, money management, or business development (and the NHL does not provide any financial education to its players). Although Kane became a highly compensated athlete in his fourteen-year career, he was raised in a working-class family that never owned a home, struggled financially, and lived month-to-month.”

However, paper that can prove all this are missing.

“One of Centennial’s arguments is that Kane was sloppy in record keeping and cannot provide documentation for much of what he claims. The bankruptcy law requires debtors to keep thorough records but makes allowances for those not considered sophisticated,” writes Kaplan.

Kane also points to the 2012 NHL lockout as a breaking point because he found himself uncertain about his future and on how to stay current on his bills.

“He ‘viewed gambling as a way to make money quick,’” the brief continued, directly quoting him from the trial.

As for the missing papers and proof, “Kane testified that most of his gambling losses were with bookies and was largely undocumented. The websites they had him gamble through don’t exist anymore, his brief explained.”

Centennial Bank, who believes Kane should not be able to complete Chapter 11 and walk away from his debts, is owed $8.4 million of the $26.8 million in debts claimed by Kane.

“Kane borrowed $50 million between 2014 and 2019, initially to pay off a gambling debt and other expenses, and then also to pay off previous loans. In all, he borrowed 26 times from institutional lenders, and seven times from individuals, including more than $1.1 million from two men his trial brief described as “middlemen” for bookies, Mike Lispti and Pete Gianakas.”

There are other plaintiffs, including Hope Parker, who owes her more than $2 million as part of an agreement to abort her pregnancy.

This is surely distracting for Kane and the Oilers and it’s not over and will probably go on during the postseason. We will have to wait and see if Chapter 11 is approved…

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