By John Hood

SSeems even billionaires have their limitations. Take Tommy Ordonez, the Chinese oligarch whose gutter-built empire is largely secured by the fact that he masquerades as a Filipino kingpin. The charade leaves Ordonez spurned by the elite both at home and in his homeland, so when the hard-hearted nicotine-and-beer czar’s soft-skulled sibling gets swindled out of $50 million, saving face is right on par with getting payback. Unfortunately for Ordonez, neither rep nor retribution can be bought, even with his billions. But that doesn’t leave him without recourse.

Enter “Uncle,” a Hong Kong based, Triad-affiliated elder statesman who happens to (mostly) collect ill-gotten gains for those with nowhere else to turn. His not-so secret weapon; a fetching forensic accountant named Ava Lee. Only Ava’s beguiling way with an endgame exceeds her martial artistry. In this case, the game takes her to Vegas, where a heavily worshiped card sharp known as “The Disciple” has led more than a few acolytes astray. Yes, among them is Ordonez’s dim-bulb of a brother, now found downed by an online poker site called The River and wishing only to drown.

The first U.S. release of the internationally-revered series starring the impeccably kickass Ava Lee, “The Disciple of Las Vegas“ (Picador $15) promises to do for author Ian Hamilton what Lisbeth Salander did for the late Stieg Larsson; that is, make him the kinda crime scribe all the world digs. With his second offering, “The Wild Beasts of Wuhan“ now on U.S. racks, ADANAI decided it was time to get the wily word-slinger to offer up a piece of his fine mind.

Who’s this “Disciple” of the title and why is he so christened?

“The Disciple” is a Las Vegas poker pro and a past winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event. The name was invented with Chris “Jesus” Ferguson in mind, but the physical description fits a minor aristocrat in the U.K. that I did business with. My character wears his hair in a minor grey Afro that some think resembles a halo. He also has a habit of staring skyward, as if looking for divine inspiration, when he’s faced with a tough poker decision.

Does this haloed David (like the saint) come with his own Gospel?

His only gospel is “win at any cost, and cheat if you can get away with it.”

Were his actions in any way inspired by anyone you know and/or know of?

The actual scam that the Disciple and his partner pull off in my book is based on the 2008 scam perpetrated by UltimateBet, an online poker site that toyed with their software in order to allow those on the inside to see other players’ hole cards. One of the alleged villains was a guy named Russ Hamilton, the 1994 World Series of Poker Main Event winner. UltimateBet ultimately repaid players more than a reported $20 million. In Ava’s case, she gets back more than that and makes them pay in some other more physical ways.

Was that why Vegas came to be included among your far more foreign ports?

Yes, Vegas had to be included because of the gambling plot in the book. When it comes to poker, there’s just Vegas baby. I could have made a case for it because of Ava’s Chinese genes as well. Now, she doesn’t gamble, but her mother and her mother’s friends sure do. I don’t know how many Baccarat tables are at Caesar’s Palace – probably too many to count – but there wouldn’t be any if weren’t for the Chinese gamblers.

Would you also say Vegas remains the kinda place that knows how to keep its secrets?

Given what happened with Prince Harry you wouldn’t think that keeping secrets was a Vegas thing, but I have heard other stories (from very reliable sources) about other celebrities that made the hair on my arms stand on end and they were never made public.

So there’s still a heaping helping of Sin to be found in the City?

Yeah, Vegas is still Sin City. I never saw that more clearly than when I was there during the NBA All-Star Game. The place was mad and bad. When the five-star hotels are shutting down their nightclubs at eleven on Saturday evening because they can’t control things, then you know you’re not in Ohio anymore.

How does Vegas stack up to your other storied settings of Macau, Wuhan, Wanchai, Hong Kong and Bangkok?

I really enjoy Vegas, and it is a fabulous setting for any book. What I especially enjoyed was having the opportunity to promote some of my favorite off-Strip restaurants like Ichiza (a Japanese place in Chinatown), and to poke some fun at the kind of pompous nonsense that goes on at a place like the Wynn and to celebrate the low-end kitsch of a place like Hooters.

Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee Series is available from Picador.

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