DUBLIN, June 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Smith Wins WSOP* Event #44 for Over $268K

Full Tilt Poker pro Gavin Smith won Event #44 at the 2010 World Series ofPoker* to claim his first WSOP* bracelet.

The Canadian poker professional has been playing poker since 1994 andturned pro four years later. He came to prominence in 2005 when winning twoevents in a week at the Mirage Poker Showdown, part of the World Poker Tour.

Prior to this year's success, the closest Smith had come to winning aWSOP* bracelet was in 2007, when he finished second in Event #4, a $1,500Pot-Limit Hold 'em tournament.

The 2010 WSOP* Event #44 began on June 24th, 2010, with 507 players and aprize pool of $1,166,100. The tournament featured 30-minute periodsalternating between No-Limit and Limit Hold 'em. At the end of Day One, 69players remained in the field, which was then whittled down to the finaltable of nine ahead of the third and final day.

Smith sat down at the final table in second place, narrowly behindchip-leader Jarred Solomon. By the dinner break, the table had been cut downto just five players - Gavin was fourth overall with a chip stack of 627,000.He then went on the offensive, playing aggressively and wrestling the leadfrom Danny Hannawa when his pair of queens held up.

When heads up play began, Smith was 400,000 chips ahead of Hannawa. Afterbriefly falling back to level chip stacks, Smith began to stretch away fromhis opponent with some aggressive betting.

On the final hand, Smith reraised with A-Q versus Hannawa's 10-8. Hannawacalled for the remainder of his chips but couldn't improve as the board camedown A-K-2-J-J. Smith's two-pair gave him his first WSOP* victory and firstprize of $268,238.

Smith becomes the sixth Full Tilt Poker professional to win a bracelet atthe 2010 World Series of Poker*, following the success of Phil Ivey, PrazBansi, Richard Ashby, Jose Luis Velador and Scott Montgomery.

Visit http://www.fulltiltpoker.com to learn more about Gavin Smith andall of the Full Tilt Poker pros.

About Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker(TM) (http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/) is the host of aworldwide virtual poker cardroom service. It is not in the business ofbetting or wagering and does not participate in the games as a player. Itmerely provides a service to those who wish to test their skills againstothers for fun, prizes or money. It is duly regulated and licensed by theAlderney Gambling Control Commission. With innovative graphics, superiorcustomer service and a safe, secure interface, the software is geared toenhance and personalize the online poker experience. Although virtual pokeris legal where the games are hosted and played, it may not be legal whereindividual players are located. Players at all skill levels may download thesoftware at http://www.fulltiltpoker.com but it is their responsibility todetermine if participating in the games is permitted under the laws of thejurisdiction where they are located.

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's LicenseCompany, LLC ("Harrahs"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is notassociated or affiliated with Full Tilt Poker or its products, services,promotions or tournaments.

SOURCE Full Tilt Poker