Lisa Hamilton and Mike Chow have already made history.
They’ll do so again today as they partner in the new $1,000 buy-in Tag Team No-Limit Hold ’Em tournament at the Rio in Las Vegas.
They are the only two players from Hawaii to have won WSOP bracelets; Chow ranks first and Hamilton third in lifetime tournament winnings of players from here. They’re joining forces to represent the islands and also because they respect each other’s ability.
Teams are of two to four players, and they can rotate in and out when not playing a hand.
“It should be interesting because it’s the first time I’ve played in a format like this,” said Chow, who won the 2010 WSOP $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split on his 33rd birthday. “I think the strategy will be whoever has a better feel for the table at that time will be the one playing. I trust Lisa’s judgment and skill, so I will feel confident whenever she’s at the table.”
Hamilton became the first bracelet winner from Hawaii when she took the WSOP’s Ladies event in 2009. Since then, she has cashed in at least one WSOP tourney each year. Chow, too, except for 2013.
I asked Chow the “Is it a sport?” question to which Hamilton previously answered no.
“I definitely think that poker is a sport,” said Chow, who played football for Pac-Five and basketball at Mid-Pacific. “It’s very much a physical and mental game. While the physical aspects differ from other sports, controlling your body and your tells and reading people’s body language is a huge part of the game. In a poker tournament you are playing against other people and there is a clear winner. That seems like a sport to me.”
Chow said he grew up in Kalihi, no stranger to gambling. He started out as a real estate broker while attending the University of Hawaii, but gave professional poker a shot after he did well at it during his first Vegas trip after turning 21.
He developed as a solid pro, but it was a tough grind until the $237,463 from his WSOP win pumped up his bankroll. Still, he says, it remains the proverbial hard way to make an easy living. With the big poker boom a decade in the rear-view mirror, there’s now less dead money floating around, fewer amateurs or wannabe pros throwing money away in high-stakes games.
“So when opportunities come along, you have to take advantage of them,” said Chow.
That means — despite some family and business commitments in Hawaii — a strong presence for Chow in Vegas during the six-week-long WSOP that started May 31. In addition to more than 70 official tournament events (including the main event that starts Saturday) there’s lots of side action — and that’s where the pros will tell you the real money is made.
Before her WSOP win and its $195,390 prize, Hamilton made her living strictly in non-tourney cash games for four years. This was after moving to Vegas when she discovered by accident at a friend’s home game she had a talent for poker.
“My life post-bracelet has been more tourneys,” said the Saint Francis grad from Hawaii Kai and Maui.
If Chow and Hamilton go deep in the three-day tag-team event, he will likely handle closer duties; the ladies event starts Friday morning.
However it works out, the new format will make it fun for both.
“I take great pride in representing Hawaii, as I’m sure Lisa does,” Chow said.
“I’ve got massive pride in repping Hawaii with Chow,” Hamilton said. “If he didn’t agree to play it with me I wasn’t gonna play it with anyone else.”
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.