Qualifier Profile: Air Force Intelligence Analyst Keegan Smith on His Way from Michigan
For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
One player to win their way in was 39-year-old Keegan Smith, who hails from Holland, Michigan.
"I have a mother and father (who is a doctor) and I had a younger brother who passed in March 2020," Smith told PokerNews. "I worked in the Air Force for six years as an intelligence analyst. I have some college but only an associate degree. I play poker for a living and have been for two years. Played semi-pro on and off since I was 20."
He continued: "I learned how to play poker in my fraternity at Hope College. Some of the older guys were playing online and I used to love hanging out with them and learning. I won $10k in an online tournament at the frat house which was a cool experience. I’ve been playing on BetMGM since the first day it went live in Michigan. As a professional player, it’s a great site with an excellent tournament structure. I specialize in MTT’s and really prefer the deeper structure that the sister sites in Michigan seem to lack."
Smith has had multiple wins in nightly $10K GTDs and a few wins at the $200-500 level on various Sundays. He's also been to Las Vegas on multiple occasions, and back in 2010 played the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, his biggest buy-in event to date.
"My proudest poker moment might have been winning that $10k back in college," he said, "though to be honest the ability to quit my job to pursue this full time is up there."
Smith concluded: "I’m just excited about the experience. As an online player in Michigan, I just don’t interact with other players or pros very often, especially in person. It’s enjoyable being surrounded by others who share your passions. The pro I’d most like to meet is probably Jonathan 'apestyles' Van Fleet but he’s grinding online in Canada. Live pro would be Phil Galfond. His hustle is admirable and I’m getting into PLO which he wrote the book on."
PokerNews will aim to keep an eye on Smith and other qualifiers during the upcoming BetMGM Poker Championship.