A poker player who won 1TP 4T 100K donated all of his mystery prize money to charity.

Brian 'Smitty' Smith won the $100,000 mystery prize in the WSOP Mystery Millions event, donating the entire sum to the pancreatic cancer charity Purple Pansies. He has a long-standing passion for philanthropy and advocates for public awareness of cancer issues.

Brian 'Smitty' Smith was already a standout in the $1,000 WSOP Mystery Millions. Tall, smiling, and dressed head-to-toe in purple, he joked that he was the "walking billboard" for the pancreatic cancer charity Purple Pansies.

But he drew even more attention on Sunday – the Atlanta, Georgia-based card grinder won a golden chest worth $100,000 and immediately announced that he would donate the entire amount to the charity he cares about most.

“One of our closest family friends, Maria, is a stage 3 pancreatic cancer survivor,” he told PokerNews. “Maria’s mother passed away within three months of being diagnosed years ago, and unfortunately, a close friend of mine lost her father to this terrible disease a few months ago.”

"I play poker and donate a lot to charities. I work with many organizations. I love giving back. I'm very fortunate and blessed to be able to do this. This year at the World Series of Poker, it was a very clear charity that deserved support."

Donate all

According to The Hendon Mob, Smith's live tournament winnings are approximately $270,000, so his draw of $100,000, plus his already locked-in minimum $2,350, represents a considerable sum in his poker career. However, he stated that charity is always more important than money.

"I donate a large portion of any prize money I win, even if I lose this summer. If I lose $150,000 but win $100,000, I will still donate $10,000 to charity. That's how I do things."

Smith, describing himself as an Omaha player, admitted, "I didn't have any expectations for this event... I probably only play one No-Limit tournament a year. I probably only play seven or eight tournaments a year in total... but when you have the chance to buy in with $1,000 and win millions, it's really hard to refuse."

"If I lose $150,000 but win $100,000, I will still donate $10,000 to charity."

"I've always been a cash game player, never had enough stamina or interest to play tournaments, but now I don't really play for the money anymore; I'm more invested in the reward aspect. I'm more invested in tournaments. I'm more invested in trophies and championships."

But Smith may have to start playing in more tournaments. "Before coming to the World Series of Poker, I was on my biggest winning streak ever," he said. "I'd made the final table eight times in my last 13 tournaments, so I thought, why not give this one a try?" It was a winning streak that people affected by pancreatic cancer would certainly support.

"I became famous for the wrong reason."

This is far from Smith's first time at the WSOP, but he says he's "famous for the wrong reasons" in the past—he was at the center of the "short stack" controversy at the 2024 WSOP $300 Gladiators event. "Since then, I think Karma has always been on my side," he added.

"I started playing poker when I was 16. My father would tell you that he was already calculating hand combinations even before that, when I was still in my mother's womb," he laughed.

"When people donate at the poker table, they often ask questions. I politely ask them if they're interested in learning more, they can go to..." purplepansies.org。」

Smith is a highly successful sales executive at a large insurance and human capital consulting firm. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Stacy, their three-year-old son Harrison, and their dog Birdie. His father was an avid Texas Hold'em player who taught him the game and actually paid for his college tuition by going to the poker tables in Atlantic City.

Returning to the topic of charity, he said, "When people donate at the poker table, they often ask questions. I politely ask them if they're interested in learning more, they can go to..." purplepansies.orgThen, if they click the donation button, I'll give them a wristband.

These players include some of the top players today, and Smith faced them on opening day of the $10,000 PLO tournament. "Kudos to Chance Kornuth and Shaun Deeb...they're both very interested in giving back, so it's really great to see some of the big names in poker giving back to the community," he said with a smile.

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