Michael Konik
Encyclopedia
Michael Konik is an American
author
, television
personality, jazz
singer, improvisational comedian
, blackjack
player and poker
player. Konik has a degree in Drama from New York University
.
Konik currently resides in Hollywood, California.
Konik was also the gambling
columnist for Cigar Aficionado
for five years, the golf columnist for Delta SKY for 10 years, and has been published in more than 100 other magazines, including Travel and Leisure, Maxim
, and Sports Illustrated
.
programs, advancing to the semi-finals. He has also either hosted or provided commentary for the following shows:
Konik was a contestant on Jeopardy!
, where he finished 2nd, the USA Network game show "Quicksilver, where he set the one-day all-time record, and was a "phone-a-friend" lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Konik was also a contestant two episodes of Greed
. He competed in the December 9, 1999 episode, winning $5,000 as the Captain. On February 29, 2000, he was on another episode, but failed to win any money.
In 2006, Konik played himself in the Animal Planet comedy "Ella & Me," based on his book "Ella in Europe." His dog Ella, a lab-greyhound mix, co-starred.
band "The Clitboys". Since then, he has recorded two jazz albums, both of which were released in 2003:
Konik and his "Tasty Band" host the longest-running weekly jazz event in Hollywood, the "Tasty Tuesday Night Jazz Party," at Catalina Bar & Grill Jazz Club.
Konik also owns an independent recording company called FreeHam Records, which includes artists like the Tony-Award winning Linda Hopkins
and the Filipina jazz star Charmaine Clamor
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, improvisational comedian
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
, blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
player and poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player. Konik has a degree in Drama from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Konik currently resides in Hollywood, California.
Writing
Michael Konik is the author of the following books:- The Man with the $100,000 Breasts and other Gambling Stories (1999)
- Nice Shot, Mr. Nicklaus: Stories About the Game of Golf (2000) Huntington Press, ISBN: 092971203X
- Telling Lies and Getting Paid (2002) Huntington Press, ISBN: 0929712730
- In Search of Burningbush: A Story of Golf, Friendship, and the Meaning of Irons (2004) McGraw-Hill, ISBN: 0071442693
- Ella in Europe: An American Dog’s International Adventure (2005) Random House Publishing Group, ISBN: 0385338635
- The Smart Money (2006) Simon & Schuster, ISBN-13: 9780743277143
- Reefer Gladness (2010) Huntington Press, ISBN: 1935396242
Konik was also the gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
columnist for Cigar Aficionado
Cigar Aficionado
Cigar Aficionado is an American magazine that is dedicated to the world of cigars. Published since September 1992, the magazine is known for its articles about different brands of cigars worldwide, and for the celebrities that have appeared on its cover. It is also noted for its opposition to the...
for five years, the golf columnist for Delta SKY for 10 years, and has been published in more than 100 other magazines, including Travel and Leisure, Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
, and Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
.
Television
Michael Konik was a contestant on NBC's 2007 "Poker After Dark," a $20,000 buy-in competition in which he finished 5th. He also competed in two of the televised World Series of BlackjackWorld Series of Blackjack
The World Series of Blackjack is a televised blackjack tournament created and produced by the cable network GSN. It is a closed tournament; players are either invited to play or can attempt to win a spot via a satellite tournament. Rounds are edited into 1-hour episodes and broadcast on GSN...
programs, advancing to the semi-finals. He has also either hosted or provided commentary for the following shows:
- Poker SuperstarsPoker Superstars Invitational TournamentThe Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament is a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The first season is available on NTSC DVD. It airs on Fox Sports Net in the United States, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and ftn in the United Kingdom.-Crew:...
- Poker Dome ChallengePoker Dome ChallengeThe MANSIONPoker.net Poker Dome Challenge was a 43-week series of speed poker tournaments offering a grand prize of $1,000,000 USD. The tournament aired in the United States on Fox Sports Network from May 2006 to March 2007. The tournament featured a number of technological gimmicks in an effort to...
- Aussie Millions
- Championship at the Plaza
- American Poker Championship at Turning Stone
- Full Tilt Pro Poker Showdown
- Monte Carlo MillionsMonte Carlo MillionsThe Monte Carlo Millions was the first ever poker tournament to be staged in the city-state of Monaco. The inaugural event was completed on 12 November 2004. Apparently birthed out of the preceding explosion of Texas Hold 'em popularity, it was conceived of and sponsored by Prima Poker. The field...
- Asia-Pacific Speed Poker Championship
- Poker Championship at Red RockPoker Championship at Red RockFull Tilt Poker Championship at Red Rock was a seven-week televised shootout poker tournament played at the Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino in Summerlin near Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament was sponsored by online poker website Full Tilt Poker and aired by Fox Sports Net...
Konik was a contestant on Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, where he finished 2nd, the USA Network game show "Quicksilver, where he set the one-day all-time record, and was a "phone-a-friend" lifeline on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Konik was also a contestant two episodes of Greed
Greed (game show)
Greed is an American television game show that aired on Fox from November 4, 1999 until July 14, 2000. The game consisted of a team of contestants who answered a series of multiple-choice questions for a potential prize of up to $2 million...
. He competed in the December 9, 1999 episode, winning $5,000 as the Captain. On February 29, 2000, he was on another episode, but failed to win any money.
In 2006, Konik played himself in the Animal Planet comedy "Ella & Me," based on his book "Ella in Europe." His dog Ella, a lab-greyhound mix, co-starred.
Music
Konik was a singer and bass player for the 1980s punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band "The Clitboys". Since then, he has recorded two jazz albums, both of which were released in 2003:
- Crescendo
- There'll Be Some Changes Made
Konik and his "Tasty Band" host the longest-running weekly jazz event in Hollywood, the "Tasty Tuesday Night Jazz Party," at Catalina Bar & Grill Jazz Club.
Konik also owns an independent recording company called FreeHam Records, which includes artists like the Tony-Award winning Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins is an African American actress and blues and gospel singer. She has recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes, all with distinction and style since the 1950s....
and the Filipina jazz star Charmaine Clamor
Charmaine Clamor
Charmaine Clamor is a Filipina jazz singer based in Hollywood, California best known for melding traditional Filipino folk songs and instruments with American jazz and blues in a newly developed musical genre called "Jazzipino"-Biography:...
.
Comedy
Konik was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Los Hombres and MINT (Musical Improv Network Television), which performed at Second City Los Angeles.Blackjack and poker
Konik has participated in the following blackjack and poker events:- World Series of BlackjackWorld Series of BlackjackThe World Series of Blackjack is a televised blackjack tournament created and produced by the cable network GSN. It is a closed tournament; players are either invited to play or can attempt to win a spot via a satellite tournament. Rounds are edited into 1-hour episodes and broadcast on GSN...
- Legends of Poker Tour
- World Series of PokerWorld Series of PokerThe World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
- Poker After DarkPoker After DarkPoker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...