Natalie Choy of Waikele has big plans for the $1 million she hopes to win tomorrow at the first-ever Worldwide Web Games championship in Los Angeles.

After paying taxes on the winnings and giving about $200,000 to her parents, she plans to dump 90 percent of the remainder into some short-term investments, to let the money build.

The other 10 percent?

"Oh, I might just blow it," Choy said, laughing. "But that's just being honest. How can you not spend it?"

Choy is one of about 75 people from around the world — and the only one from Hawai'i — vying for the million-dollar grand prize at the casual online game championship.

So what are these "casual online games?"

They're described as PC-based games that are easy to learn but difficult to completely master. The most popular ones are Bejeweled 2, Zuma and — every office worker's favorite — Solitaire.

You can find these games at Web sites like MSN.com and Yahoo.com.

According to the International Data Corp., the number of Americans playing these online games is expected to surge to 124 million by 2008. The industry is projected to grow to $1.56 billion in two years.

This tournament will bring together some of the world's best casual online gamers. They qualified by posting high scores in Bejeweled 2, Zuma or Solitaire.

Choy started playing these games in 2004, when she was pregnant with her first child. She was living at home with her parents in 'Aiea while her boyfriend, Alex Pagulayan, competed in billiards tournaments on the Mainland.

"I was pregnant, so (playing them) was easy for me to do," said Choy, 30. "And I always did like puzzle games."

It didn't take long for Choy, then an aspiring billiards player, to master some of them.

"Within a day or two, I'd completely finish the game," she said. "There were no other levels. So I would play them over and over again, from beginning to end, just trying to beat my high scores or get extra bonus point because I was bored."

Two months ago she answered a call-out for gamers interested in playing for $1 million in a championship tournament.

She paid $2.50 for each game, posting her highest scores to qualify.

On her fourth try, Choy got the top score in Zuma and waited for someone else to beat it.

"I figured definitely my score would get beaten," she said. "And when it did, I'd try again."

But no one topped her high score.

And when she was notified that she would be competing for the grand prize, she couldn't believe it.

"When I won the qualifier, I wanted to fly there right away and play," Choy said. "But now I'm feeling really nervous. I'm sure once the game starts I'll fall back into my normal mode. But I'm getting really nervous. I'm dreaming about it! Not too many people get this chance, that one weekend could change your life.

"I have a chance to walk away with $1 million. Just thinking about that gives me butterflies."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.