Gavin Smith Wins FTOPS Event #7; FTOPS Missing Many Guarantees

 

As you know, we typically don't report on online tournaments or live prelims unless something noteworthy happens.

So when FTP pro Gavin Smith, who is notably and admittedly not much of an online tourney player, wins a FTOPS event, it warrants mention.

Smith took down FTOPS Event #7 ($100 no-limit hold'em with rebuys), beating a field of 1,806 to bank $123,600.

Also warranting a mention is that this edition of the FTOPS is seriously missing its guaranteed marks. Whether it's The Economy^TM, poor marketing, over-saturation, or some other factor, it seems like the FTOPS has lost some of its luster.

Read a good breakdown of the FTOPS missing its mark at the Poker-King here.

Gavin Smith, Captain POB Among WSOP-C Tunica Day 1 Survivors

Stating the obvious (again) here, but these WSOP Circuit events aren't what they used to be.

Back when the WSOP-C's began, ESPN cameras followed. Top pros played in them. Winning one had at least a little bit of prestige.

Now, not so much.

The first WSOP-C stop of 2009 kicked off yesterday at Harrah's Tunica. $5k entry, 154 entrants.

Like the movie The Fast and the Furious, play was fast and furious^TM (man we haven't used that one in a long time...feels good), as only 27 remained by the end of Day 1. David Dao will enter Day 2 as the chip leader, stacked at 291,700. Online pro Matt 'Allinat420' Stout is second with 255,500.

Other notables remaining include Gavin Smith, "Captain POB" Tom Franklin, Jordan Morgan, and Kathy Liebert, a woman.

Phil Ivey Leads WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals

WPT events have been filling Phil Ivey's wallet this year.

While most of the poker world is looking ahead to the WSOP Main Event final table on Sunday, the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals just concluded its two Day 1's, ending up with a stellar 412 entrants and $1,120,310 first prize.

Jason Potter (this guy) and Phil Ivey (this guy)* are atop the leaderboard, both stacked just over 183,000.

Plenty of big names among the big stacks. They include but are certainly not limited to Kevin Saul (135,350), Jonathan Little (131,400), the still running good Gavin Smith (124,325), and David "The Dragon" Pham** (109,200).

Get full chip counts here.

* It's cool, we voted for Obama.
** Not a real dragon.

Gavin Smith Does Not Win WPT North American Poker Championship

An on-the-wagon Gavin Smith falls short of his second WPT title at the NAPC in Canada.

The only storyline we were interested in at the WPT North American Poker Championship, ironically being held in Canada, was if Gavin Smith won the event while remaining sober, but he didn't, because like we said yesterday great things don't happen to you when you're not drinking. Sure "good" things may happen, like actually making it home safely at the end of the night, but that isn't nearly as fun as waking up with a hangover in the backseat of your car in some alley outside a night club with some hot naked girl named, well, who cares what her name is. It's not like you're going to marry her. Or at least you didn't plan to. Hi honey, if you're reading this.

The win in Canada went to hometurfer Glen Witmer, a 67-year-old retired igloo salesmen/real estate broker who was playing at his first televised final table. Smith finished second and Kathy Liebert, a woman and the sole US American at the table, ended up third.

Full final table results below:

1. Glen Witmer $1,090,589
2. Gavin Smith $532,545
3. Kathy Liebert $277,684
4. Ryan Fisler $228,234
5. Mark Karam $171,175
6. James Trenholm $133,137

Check out the WPT live blog from the event here.

Gavin Smith Guns for Second WPT Title; Kathy Liebert, A Woman, Goes for #1

All of our experiences with heavy drinking led to positives things in life. It magically turned slightly unattractive girls into dime models and helped us beat up guys twice our size with the help of about a dozen of our fraternity brothers. It was like some mystical beauty pill and liquid spinach all rolled up into one.

So hearing stories about good things happening when you're not drinking barely even computes to us, but apparently Gavin Smith is breaking the mold here. He's like a sober Lewis & Clark.

Gavin had a good late run at the WPT North American Poker Championship (ironically being held in Canada), chipping up to 2,815,000. That's good for second overall going into final table play. For those keeping tabs at home, this makes Gavin's fourth WPT final table, and he's the only one of the remaining six with a win (the Mirage Poker Showdown in '05).

Gavin, who is focused (see below) and our official pick to win it, only trails fellow Canadian Glen Witmer, who is making his first WPT final table, and at 67 years old, let's face it, could be his last. Witmer is stacked at 3,710,000.

The rest of the final table is filled out by Canadian Ryan "gotskillz" Fisler at 2,285,000, Canadian Marc Karam at 1,850,000, the sole U.S. American, Kathy Liebert, a woman, at 1,620,000, and Canadian fire-fighter James Trenholm at 1,365,000.

Gavin Smith Soberly Stacked on Top at WPT North American Poker Championship

Day 3 of the WPT North American Poker Championship, which we're still waiting for an explanation why it's being held in Canada (what's American about Canada?), gets underway today at noon and sitting down the big stack will be the remarkably still sober Gavin Smith, a Canadian, with 405,900. Smith has a prop bet that he can stay sober for six months, which is like asking Amy Winehouse to give up blow for a day, or asking David Benyamine to give up tasty gooey cinnamon rolls, or  us not to breathe air.

Second in chips (383,800) is MIT Yale math geek Matt Matros, who's coming off a good run at the 2008 WSOP where he cashed five times, made one final table, finished 78th in the Main Event and solved the Collatz Conjecture.

Running uber sick  and making us hungry for some chicken tikka masala and a hot dog from 7-Eleven for some reason right now, Vivek Rajkumar sits in third with 342,100. The 22-year-old Rajkumar just took down the Borgata Poker Open and has earned 8 cashes at the WSOP the past two years.

Other big names above average heading into Day 3 include Kathy Liebert, a woman (298,300), Miami John Cernuto (210,200), Sorel Mizzi (209,200), and the spectacularly breasted JC Tran (165,000).

Get full chip counts/follow the action here.