Local Spotlight: Thomas Hill
![Thomas Hill reps for his crew.](https://s.pnimg.net/SM3d6SQeM8UzpfabXP3N9P8w-v2vlPFvzlFUkB7syoc/pr:reporting-leading-desktop/aHR0cHM6Ly9wbmlt/Zy5uZXQvbHJlcC8x/ODQzLzY4L3g1MDBi/ODAxZmY3LmpwZw.webp)
When it comes to the $500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better event here at the Borgata Winter Poker Open, Thomas Hill is one of a kind. As in, he was the sole online qualifier for the event. He beat a friend heads up in a $50 satellite.
"There weren't that many people in it, but a win's a win," he said.
Hill, 26, hails from Robbinsville, N.J., which he said is about a 90-minute drive away. Most of his play comes online nowadays, but he was drawn to the Winter Poker Open to play his favorite game.
"There's a lot more people willing to gamble and get it in," he said when asked what he likes best about PLO8. "It fits the way I think better."
When Hill does decide to play live, he travels with a small group of about seven that Hill called a "team/study group."
"We call ourselves 'Team Kitten,'" he said, pointing at his T-shirt, pictured. "We all have the shirt but nobody's wearing it. We usually reserve it for final days or final tables, but I figured since this was a one-day event, it counts."
His only concrete plan for the rest of the tournament series is, unsurprisingly, to enter the limit O8 tournament.