Stadium High alum runner-up at World Series of Poker

An alumnus of Tacoma’s Stadium High School came in second at the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas this summer.

Tony Miles took home $5 million after a grueling 10 days at the card table, rising above about 8,000 people who entered the tournament.

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“It’s not a bad day at the office,” Miles joked with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

Miles — who now lives in Florida, but showed his Washington pride by wearing a Russell Wilson jersey during the televised tournament — prepared for this moment for years, perfecting his poker game with plenty of study and practice.

“Over the past few years, I’ve really been putting in a lot of time off the felt studying and trying to acquire a deep understanding of the tournament strategy, and this year it really paid off,” he said.

Miles joked that he is single, so he has plenty of time to work on perfecting the craft of poker, which is “a game that is constantly evolving.”

The road to poker stardom was not a clear one, however. For years, Miles struggled with alcohol and drugs, an addiction that began in high school.

“I experimented and abused alcohol and drugs, and honestly, at the time I just didn’t know any better,” he said. “I wasn’t knowledgeable enough or educated about the disease of addiction, and it kind of runs in my family.”

The same qualities that make him a stellar poker player, such as a willingness to take risks, contributed to the addiction, Miles believes.

The reverse, however, is also true — the skills that Miles learned while overcoming his addiction have improved his poker game.

“All of those trials and tribulations that I encountered when I was going through that helped build character and it helped me build strength and perseverance,” he said. “And I use all of those in my daily life, and I definitely used that a lot in this tournament.”

Miles has now been sober for two years. He said that getting to that point was a harder challenge than the entire World Series of Poker.

“Finishing runner-up in the World Series of Poker main event is a great accomplishment, but getting a handle on that alcoholism and addiction was probably the one thing that’s been the biggest achievement of my life so far,” he said.

He added, “It has just added immense value to my life and my perspective.”

The World Series of Poker’s Main Event had 8,000 entries for 2018, Miles said. During the 10-day tournament, Miles played 12 hours a day with barely any break time.

The Stadium High alumnus called it “the most mentally-taxing event I could have engaged in,” adding that by the end, he was delirious. He even had to change his diet to accommodate for the mental strain.

“It was truly a test of mental fortitude and endurance,” he said. “It was unlike anything I ever experienced in my entire life.”

During his years of training, Miles was told over and over again that he was wasting his time.

“So many people told me I would never make it in poker — they said wasn’t smart enough, they said I was too old,” he said.

However, Miles — a firm believer in hard work leading to success — paid no mind to the nay-sayers.

“Anybody is capable of learning anything if you put enough time and effort into it … if you’re dedicated and committed to achieving your dream,” he said.

It is a phrase that Miles carried with him throughout the tournament and into his everyday life.

“Anything is possible, and I want that to be one of the themes of this experience … anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” Miles said.

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