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The so-called "sports betting king", Mazi Smith (real name Darnell Smith) was recently profiled by the New York Times r. But is he really the king of sports gambling?
First off, for regular Gambling911.com readers, we reported a few weeks ago on Smith fighting 14 counts of fraud and forgery in Las Vegas, according to reports at the time.
He often boasts of his high-stakes winnings that include wins like $1.45 M on the Chiefs and $548 K in another instance. He claims to have made dramatic profits such as $317 K in a single day. Some reports suggest he has been in police custody since May 16. That just happens to be the day Mazi stopped posting on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The New York Times piece begins: "Mazi VS has become a major influencer by flaunting his expensive lifestyle and his big-winning wagers. Other gamblers say he can’t be what he seems."
That paper interviewed a professional sports bettor from the Boston area, 24-year-old Ryan Noel. If that name sounds unfamiliar, you'd be forgiven. Noel is none other than X Spaces phenom, Elf.
That paper interviewed a professional sports bettor from the Boston area, 24-year-old Ryan Noel. If that name sounds unfamiliar, you'd be forgiven. Noel is none other than X Spaces phenom, Elf.
“He is where he is for a reason — he’s the best marketer in the business,” says Elf. Noel told the Times that would-be clients should ask themselves, when they’re looking at an Instagram page like Mazi’s: “What are they really selling? Are they selling sports picks or are they selling lifestyle? If you’re an uninformed gambler, you’ll look at him and be like, ‘Damn, this guy has the life.’ And he does. He has the life,” Noel says. “But that’s what he’s really selling. And that’s what the people purchasing his picks really want.”
Indeed, it was Elf who helped break the news of Smith's legal issues.
R.J. Cipriani broke the news of Smith's charges and hearing. Cipriani calls himself a "government source", who helped take down an international drug ring.
According to the Times, the court documents indicate that Smith stands accused of possessing 14 different IDs.
One was a Utah identification card with the name Carson Marimon; 11 were from Arizona; one was a Romanian passport with the name Stanescu Ana-Maria. And the final ID? A Nevada driver’s license with the name Goated Mazi.
Times reporter Devin Gordon confirmed Smith entered a plea of not guilty on all 14 counts, noting that an investigator in the district attorney’s office advised Smith was not granted bail because he remained on probation from an earlier gun-possession charge.
His criminal trial is scheduled for Aug. 25, and if convicted, he faces years in prison.
Smith told Gordon he was on “business out of town.”
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
