John eventually became Stefano's "pawn", and was involved in a myriad of schemes and operations on DiMera's behalf. In 1986, Stefano (through Petrov) staked his "pawn" as a wager in a high-stakes yacht race in Miami with the ruthless Salem business tycoon and underworld figure Victor Kiriakis and the equally corrupt ISA Director George Nickerson. The stakes were a "Purse" (staked by Victor – a treasure that he didn't actually yet possess - ancient Mayan codices whose location wouldn't be revealed until 1991 - and so "securitized" with revenues from his connections to a powerful drug cartel), the "Power" (staked by Nickerson – a book of ISA codes, vaguely related among other things to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which purportedly provided the bearer virtual invulnerability from the worldwide law-enforcement and intelligence communities), and the "Pawn" (staked by Petrov, who was operating on behalf of the believed-dead Stefano at the time). Victor won the wager (and thus, custody of John), and brought him back home to Salem.