Michael Konik is a man who wears many hats. He is a writer, television celebrity, jazz singer and improvisational comedian. However he is best known for playing blackjack and as a poker player.
Konik grew up in Fox Point in Wisconsin. Though he was passionate about art, literature and music in school, he also exhibited the ability to think critically, which has held him in good stead during his blackjack and poker days. Konik graduated from the renowned Lee Strasburg Theatre Institute of New York University with a degree in Drama. He had started writing essays and criticisms professionally while studying.
Konik has played extensively on the international blackjack and poker circuits. Some of the events that he has participated in are the World Series of Blackjack, The World Blackjack Tour, The Legends of Poker Tour and World Series of Poker.
Konik has written extensively since 1999, mainly on gambling and golf. The Man with the $100,000 Breasts and other Gambling Stories published in 1999 contains twenty-six stories that are supposed to be fiction but are based on his real life experiences in the glamorous world of gambling. The title story is about a man named Brian Zembic who wore breast implants for a year in order to win a bet. Telling Lies and Getting Paid, which came out in 2002, contains fourteen stories of the same kind, dealing with diverse events such as gambling in Macau to the politics behing the Blackjack Ball. In The Smart Money (2006), Konik reveals the innermost secrets of the gambling world in a cleverly concealed fictionalised account. In addition to his books, Konik has been a sports columnist writing on gambling for Cigar Aficionado for five years and on golf for Delta Sky for ten years. He has also contributed articles to more than 100 magazines such as Travel and Leisure, Maxim and Sports Illustrated.
Thomas Johnson