Jim Kwong of Vancouver has been playing mahjong for 30 years.
While being nervous is part and parcel of the traditional Chinese game, Kwong says he has never been so jittery as he is now.
One month ago, Kwong was pronounced the champion of the second annual Mahjong Charity Open at the River Rock Casino Resort, in support of the Richmond Firefighters Society.
The grand prize includes a seat at the World Series of Mahjong tournament in Macau and air fare and accommodations for two at the Wynn Macau (valued at more than $10,000).
Kwong will be taking his wife with him September 18 as he advances into the international games for good luck and support.
“I saw the advertisement for this event and entered in support of the charity but never thought I’d win the top prize,” said Kwong, after six hours of play and defeating 255 other players at the River Rock event.
“I’m excited to go to Macau but nervous at the same time because I haven’t played in so long!”
He will join hundreds of Mahjong aficionados from Hong Kong, China and Macau who will be hoping the tiles they gather will help their hand when they pit their skills next month against Europeans, Americans, Japanese and others in a major championship in Macau offering a US$1 million payout.
Competitors will be wishing their luck, as much as their skill, will land them a pong (three tiles) or a kong (four tiles), among numerous other combinations at the tables.
“Wow! Good question,” Kwong, who works for a Vancouver non-profit organization, told the Post when asked what he’d do with a million bucks in prize money.
“I think I’d buy a house - that’s about enough to have a single house in Vancouver,” he quipped.
In addition to the top prize, the World Series of Mahjong will offer between US$5,000 and US$500,000 to 32 top players. The entry fee is US$5,000 and many will see it as a smart bet.
The aim of the four-player game is to create a winning hand usually made up of four sets and an eye, or pair. The scoring depends on the combination of tiles that a player can amass.
“There will be 250 people so everybody has an even chance,” said Kwong, whose two adult children will be cheering him on from Vancouver.
“Most of it is by luck,” he said of the game. “It’s seven-to-three, luck to skill, the chance is pretty decent for everyone.”
Kwong, originally from Hong Kong, says he hasn’t played much Mahjong since moving to Canada 18 years ago.
“I’m a little rusty,” he said. “I haven’t been practicing, I’ll be rusty in Macau too!”
In Macau, he plans to visit the “big new huge hotels” and see how things have changed in the 20 years since he last visited the former Portuguese colony, handed over to China in 1999.
“It will be a good opportunity to open my eyes and see all the changes,” he said. “And it’s hot there, which will be a nice change from rainy Vancouver.”
Mahjong expert Alan Kwan, who developed the rules for the Macau championship, says they are similar to the Hong Kong style of game play.
He told The Standard that the top scoring patterns are Nine Gates, four kongs and four identical sequences.
Referring to the top hands last year, he recalls that after the first round, the leaders “had scores [of] around 700 and 800.”
In last year’s championship, Hui Chung-lai, a retiree from Hong Kong, beat three others with a total score of 423.11 points.
“I felt like [I was] dreaming when they announced my name as the champion. I have never participated in any international or regional mahjong contest. Last year was my first time to join such an event. I think I am just lucky!” he told The Standard.
Hui has been playing for more than 50 years, having started at the age of 13 years. He still plays with his friends, who now rely on his mahjong prowess even more than before. “Whenever they have arguments or questions when playing with friends, they will ask me for advice and regard me as the judge nowadays.”
Last year, more than 270 people from 10 different countries competed in the tournament. Hong Kong players dominated the finals, filling up 15 out of 32 places. China came a close second with 13 and a Dane finished in the top six.
Niels Hansen has been playing for 20 years and lives in Taiwan with his wife. He told the Macau Daily Times: “There are so many good players. Everyone has to have a little bit of luck.”
This year, the field will be even more competitive. The organizers are holding satellite tournaments, similar to poker contests, in Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Kwong said his technique, in a word, is: “Concentrate.”
“I’ll just play smart and keep an eye on what is happening in front of me,” he said.
Jenn Barr, a 25-year-old from Seattle, now plays as a pro in the Japanese league. You might recognize her from Konami’s Mahjong Fight Club video game. She finished 114th, out of 270, in the World Series last year.
“Last year everyone was new to the rules and I think there were a lot of mistakes made in play. Almost the entire field was from Hong Kong and Taiwan. I think it was very exciting and everyone was having a lot of fun,” she says.
Unfamiliar with B.C.’s dark horse, she reckons the Japanese pros are the ones to watch. “Most of us play five to eight hours a day, five to six days per week, so we see a lot more hands than most of the recreational players.”
Hui will be watching two players in particular. “There was a Hong Kong player who did quite well in terms of technique, but failed to enter the round with the eight best players. I thought he was so unlucky. Another one to watch is a woman from Guangzhou [who was in the final eight].”
He has been training to retain his title: “I have practised more frequently with my friends, especially with those who know how to play with the World Series Mahjong rules.”
Barr has also been sharpening her skills. “It takes a lot of practise and patience. No player can win every single hand, so you have to know when to let someone else win and conserve your losses. You also have to know when to go for the big hands and when to go for the quick hands.”