Outside of his prop bet antics and his legendary appetite for the partying that his success as a rounder has afforded him, not much has been heard out of Gavin Smith in recent years. That all changed over the weekend, when Smith won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $2,500 mixed hold’em event, beating out 570 players and taking home the $268,238 first prize.
This is Smith’s second cash of the 2010 WSOP, coming in 9th in the $10,000 heads-up no-limit hold’em event for $38,424. It is also his second major cash of 2010, having won a $2,500 no-limit hold’em event back in January at the Fallsview Poker Classic at the Fallsview Casino in Ontario, Canada for $188,743.
Smith’s most notable appearance was back at the $10,000 2006 WSOP No-Limit Hold’Em Championship Circuit event at Harrah’s in New Orleans. More than a bracelet was on the line for Smith: he bet his friend Allie Prescott that he would win the tourney, Prescott the same. If Smith won, Prescott would finance out $70,000 for 10 years. Reversely, if Prescott took it down, Gavin would owe him just 10 easy payments of $100,000. With the side bet looming over the heads-up battle between Smith and chip leader Peter Feldman, cameras kept panning to the crowd as a fidgety Prescott looked onward at his financial fate. Luckily, it was Feldman who was left standing at the end, and Prescott lived to see another day, one not in a cardboard box or out of his trunk.
Smith has constantly been featured throughout the years on ESPN’s poker coverage, even though his performances have been comparably tame to that of other pros. His admittedly clownish behavior wins him camera time, among other benefits.
When asked about his personality: “”It gets me calls, it gets me people making crazy plays against me.”
His 14 in-the-money finishes at the WSOP account for $561,182 of his earnings, earnings of which exceed $5,300,000. So where does the majority of his fortune come from? Look no further than the World Poker Tour (WPT).
Gavin Smith to the WPT is what Sly Stallone is to Sunday afternoon movies. His accomplishments under the WPT banner are nothing short of amazing, having won the Mirage Poker Showdown event in 2005 and the $1,128,278 that came with it. In October, he placed 3rd at the 2nd Annual Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship, followed by a 4th place finish in January 2006 at the Goldstrike World Poker Tour Open. His tear across the felt was enough to earn him the WPT Season 4 Player of the Year award, and rightfully so.
Below is a video of Gavin Smith making good on a prop bet with Phil Laak, who bet $700 that Smith couldn’t jam 15 marshmallows into his mouth in 150 seconds. It has absolutely nothing to do with his win, but it’s almost as damn fine an achievement as WSOP gold.
I’m wondering if Laak thinks of this stuff late at night and rolls out of bed with a smile on his face. Anything he can do to get in front of a camera.