Tuesday October 14,2014 : POKER PRO A BIG FANTASY SPORTS WINNER
A million for Matt.
Professional poker player Matt Smith showed last week that he has the ability to make big wins in tournaments other than poker when he scored a million dollar victory in a fantasy sports competition.
Fantasy sports, legal in most states, is a rapidly growing phenomenon that is attracting huge numbers of punters frustrated by the antiquated sports betting bans active in all but four US states.
Market leaders like FanDuel and DraftKings are reporting ever-burgeoning revenues as daily rather than long-tern tournaments and promos take place.
The winning action for Smith took place on DraftKings, where a "Millionaire Maker" tournament saw the poker pro come out tops over a field of almost 92,400 contestants to claim the million dollar prize. By accruing points through the right selection of players in his fantasy choices, Smith triumphed.
And he wasn't the only big-name poker pro in the competition – top and poker coach player Brian Hastings also enjoyed a good finish, perhaps proving the theory that poker and sports betting are closely associated.
DraftKings marketers say the company is to run further big money tournaments in the near future, where punters can invest a buy-in of $200 for a chance to win up to $100,000.