ClubWPT’s Roger Smith is preparing for a return to Las Vegas as the latest player to qualify for the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
ClubWPT’s Roger Smith is headed to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. There may be some nerves, but Roger Smith is not nervous. He’s excited.
And why wouldn’t he be? The 52-year-old ClubWPT stalwart from Richmond, Virginia (known online as ‘Smiffy Roge’) is the latest online qualifier into one of the biggest, most prestigious tournaments of the year – the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas .
And, sure, one might think that with fewer than 10 live tournaments on his poker resume, Smith could feel a little anxious. But for Smith, a return trip to Las Vegas is more about competition and taking on the biggest challenge of his poker journey, one that started two decades ago.
“[Poker] started out as a bit of a hobby,” Smith said. “I grew up with card games and things like that, but I really got into it probably 20 or so years ago, playing properly. I didn’t really know much about what I was doing, so I had to read some books and figure out how to play a little bit. I was on ClubWPT for a little while, I think in 2013, for a year or so. And then I really got back into it in 2018.”
When COVID put the world (poker and otherwise) on lockdown, Smith turned to ClubWPT. He watched as WPT talent, including Lynn Gilmartin and Matt Savage, streamed tournaments from their homes and then he took the leap himself to stream his own play on ClubWPT. It was a place to find community as well as competition.
“I think definitely competition is a big thing,” Smith said. “I was a semi-pro soccer player over in England growing up and sports has been sort of a bigger thing for me and this is sort of a competitive outlet for me.”
If it was competition Smith was looking for, ClubWPT has delivered. Last year, Smith finished third in ClubWPT’s Player of the Year […]
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