Jul
12
by Chad Holloway
Gavin Smith wins his first WSOP bracelet.
I played in the All-In Magazine Media Freeroll earlier this week. It was a super turbo, and I mean it was extremely fast. There were 89 entrants and a few of us from PokerNews entered. There were also a number of poker professionals and notables in the field including Carlos Mortenson, Robert Williamson III, Barbara Enright, Montel Williams, Gavin Smith and Jerry Yang. I’m proud to say I was the last PokerNews member standing and went on to make the final table, which included Corey Zeidman and Marsha Waggoner. Zeidman busted in 7th place and I was right behind in 6th. Waggoner ended up chopping the win and took home some prizes. All in all it was a great event and I had an awesome time.
On the 4th of July, I attended the Bluff Magazine party at Sapphire, the World’s largest gentleman’s club. The strip club itself was alright, not overly impressive, but the party was a great time. A lot of people from the poker industry were there and it was open bar, so it all made for a great time. I met and hung out with John Blowers, the author of Life on Tilt. His book will likely be made into a movie soon and that was a fun topic of conversation. John is a fun guy and it fun getting to meet him, especially considering we both write for Poker Pro Magazine.
As for the WSOP itself, I watched Gavin Smith win his first bracelet. That was something special and among my favorite things I’ve gotten to see out here. The featured table was packed with supporters and it was a very emotionally charged atmosphere after he won, one of those rare moments you look back on and are glad you were part of it. Congrats to Gavin on his first bracelet. Other highlights recently have included Daniel Alaei winning his third bracelet. He is only 25 years old and the only person to have won that many bracelets by that age was, guess who . . . Phil Ivey. Alaei is the real deal and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dominate for years to come. Also, apparently Peter Eastgate, the 2008 Main Event Champion, quit poker on the eve of the Main Event. He is giving up his sponsorship deal and moving on from the poker world to focus on other things. It sounds like he is for real since he didn’t play the Main Event. I guess only time will tell.
The Main Event itself has been insane. The Rio is packed and everyone in the poker world is has shown up. As I write this, it is Day 1d and NFL superstar Emmitt Smith did the famous “Shuffle Up and Deal” announcement before playing. The cameras were surrounding him and I even managed to snap a few photos myself. Also, the table right next to me was home to Chris Ferguson, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith and John “The Razor” Phan. For a Day 1, that is a stacked table. It should be interesting to see who can navigate this massive field. I’ll be sure to document anything worthwhile in my next blog.