Jim Smiley is an interesting character indeed, and Wheeler gives enough details to draw some pretty solid conclusions. The first thing that we learn about him is that he is a curious man, meaning, he was curious about people and things around him. Smiley's curiosity take the form of betting--he is curious to know just how fast something can go, how far it can go, and sets up bets to find out. It's an interesting form to take, but Wheeler calls him "the curiosest man about." Wheeler also concludes that he was pretty "lucky," because he often won the bets that he staged. Some inferences, or guesses made by reading between the lines, that can be drawn here, is that Smiley was not a rich man (betting might have supplemented his income, AND, he had come to a mining town for work), and possibly addicted to gambling. We learn that he would bet on anything with anyone at any time.
Smiley was also determined--Wheeler mentions how if he had bet on how far a bug would walk, he would follow that bug "to Mexico" to find out the answer. I also gather that he was rather unsrupulous and tactless at times, given the fact that he even placed a bet on the longevity of the pastor's wife. Betting was the man's life, and he did it even at the cost of offending people, and being incredibly rude while doing it.
Overall, Smiley seems like a man who would be amusing to tell stories about, but kind-of a pain to know in person. I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!
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