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Gavin Smith Memorial Tournament to Be Held Prior to 2019 WSOP

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A couple of news tidbits for the 2019 World Series of Poker dropped recently. According to reports, the WSOP will hold a charity event to benefit the Gavin Smith Memorial Fund just before the start of the series.

Also, this summer the WSOP will host a “Bracelet Winners Only” event with a $1,500 buy-in and no added money. Three-time bracelet winner Dutch Boyd managed to convince WSOP officials to make the event rake-free, giving former bracelet winners an incentive to play the event.

Bracelet Only Event Now Rake Free

In case you haven’t checked out the schedule for the upcoming 50th Annual World Series of Poker, Event #81 is a $1,500 50th Annual Bracelet Winners Only NL Hold’em Event with a $1,500 buy-in. To qualify for this event, you must have won a WSOP at any point in the history of the World Series of Poker.

Dutch Boyd, winner of three WSOP bracelets, took to Twitter last Monday to ask why former winners should bother playing the event. The buy-in is low, there’s no added cash, and the event is fully raked. We can understand his concern as this is no different than a regular $1,500 event, except the field will be MUCH smaller and the prize pool tiny in comparison.

Boyd followed up with a fan, stating that unless he was missing something, he’s not playing.

WSOP officials saw the complain and a day later announced that they were going to make the tournament rake-free. This means that the full $1,500 buy-in will go into the prize pool.

If I were a former bracelet winner, I think I would have asked for a bit more than just a rake-free event, even if it were a private buffet or some other type of creature comforts. However, it appeared that a rake-free event was enough to appease Boyd as he tweeted his approval.

I’ve always applauded the WSOP for listening to their players in the past. From personal experience, I always found the staff helpful and accommodating. This is just another example of the WSOP doing what they can to make the player experience better.

Charity Tournament Benefiting Gavin Smith’s Kids Preceding WSOP

Back in January, popular pro player Gavin Smith suddenly passed away, leaving two kids without a father. Smith was a single dad raising his two kids on his own. Right after passing, friend and pro player Josh Arieh revealed that Smith was not financially secure and that the kids may need a bit of help with future expenses.

Arieh started a GoFundMe page for Smith’s kids and thus far has raised $72,710. However, the last donation was two months ago. To help raise more money, the WSOP will hold a charity event on May 28 at 6 pm to benefit the Gavin Smith Memorial Fund.

The $200 buy-in event will be rake-free, and half of the prize pool will go towards the fund. It would not be surprising to see players that cash in this event donate additional funds to the charity to help Gavin’s kids.

I won’t go into the dissenting opinions about the charity or raising money for kids. Raising a child is expensive, and the cost of raising kids goes up every year. On average, a parent will spend over $100,000 raising a single child, and Smith had two. And this isn’t including the cost of sending those kids to college, which could cost $100,000 or more each.

The Gavin Smith Memorial Fund will help provide a stable future for his two children, regardless of where they land. If they land with a wealthy guardian as some have suggested, then this money can go towards helping them establish a good quality of life when they turn 18.

I’m never against helping a kid that has lost a parent, so if you’re inclined to help, please do so. The charity event before the WSOP is a fun way to help the kids and remember a beloved poker pro.

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