Michael Wang’s been living out of a suitcase since he started playing poker full time. He’s earned over $6 million along the way and won a couple WSOP bracelets and rings, a couple of PokerGo titles, and glass miniatures of the Wynn and Borgata – but he’s missing a signature score on the World Poker Tour.
Wang is seated in Day 1B of the $3,500 WPT Playground Championship hoping to address the situation. “I’ve been trying to win one for a long time on the WPT,” Wang said. “For one thing, it would mean getting unstuck from all the WPT events I’ve played – so that would be nice.”
“It would be a nice accomplishment, especially after going to these stops for so long,” he continued. “It’d be nice to have something big to show for it; fingers are crossed. The WPT is such a major title that it would be an honor.”
Trekking around the poker globe
He's on the tail-end of a 12-week trip that took him halfway across the world and back. It started simply enough in August with stops at Seminole Hard Rock, Champions Club in Texas and MGM National Harbor in Maryland.
He earned four five-figure cashes, made four final tables and outright won a High Roller event at Champions Club.
Then he flew to EPT Barcelona, where he picked up four cashes, and that led him to the WPT Australia Championship for two more cashes. Then it was on to new experiences for him.
Wang flew to Taipei for the APT Taipei Poker Classic. He arrived with a typhoon on his first day but rolled up his sleeves to get to work. “The schedule for APTs are crazy – it reminds me of WSOP during the summer where there is so much going on that I didn’t have much time off.”
Taking time to himself
He picked up another cash but needed a few poker-free days, so he went to Thailand – another first for him. “I saw Muay Thai fights, got cheap 90-minute massages and had some great street food.”
Wang centered himself, readied himself for more poker and flew to EPT Cyprus. His face lit up as soon as he described the island. “Cyprus is very scenic,” he said. “There’s so much history – I went to one castle that dates back to the BC era and saw a shipwreck that was a thousand years old.”
“There’s a castle in the mountains that has beautiful views and the beaches in Cyprus were amazing,” Wang said. “It was harrowing to get from place to place as I was driving and they’re on the other side of the road. It was anxiety-inducing but aside from that Cyprus was really fun.”
“Going to those new places for the first time didn’t make this trip feel like a work trip,” he said. “Yeah, it’s been a lot of travel overall, but I made a fun time out of it. So, it’s actually the opposite vibes of jetlag.”
Home sweet home
To get from Maryland to Montreal, Wang flew over 31,000 miles and spent around 61 hours in airplanes in the last eight weeks. He earned $127,827 for his efforts – netting him $1,521.75 per day, $4 a mile, or $2,095 per hour in a plane.
After he wraps his Montreal trip, Wang is finally headed home to Las Vegas. “I want to get back to the States and play – it’s more of my comfort zone,” Wang said. “Europeans, in general, are more aggressive and there are certain tendencies in different populations. America is a little more laid back and chill – you don’t see as many three-betting and four-betting wars.”
“This is the end of my international travels for a while,” Wang added. “Even as fun as the trip was, I’ve been away from home for a while, and it will be nice to see my – I can’t even call them my pets – but my roommate has a dog and my girlfriend has a cat. I want to see everyone, hang at home and veg out.”
All photos courtesy of World Poker Tour - Alicia Skillman
