When Mako Nakamine first began playing Pigskin Picks a few years ago, his wife Diane would always ask him how he did.

"Not good," he would say. After a while, Nakamine said she wouldn't "ask me anymore."

Well, ask him now.

Nakamine, 44, of Waipahu, correctly picked the winners of 12 of 13 games and won the tiebreaker by coming closest to the total offensive yards in the Detroit-Indianapolis game.

He wins a trip for two to Las Vegas, $500 in spending and a chance to break the news to his wife.

"She thought I was joking," he said. " 'You serious? You serious?' " she asked. "She was all stoked about it."

Nakamine said he picks winners by looking at the newspaper and comparing statistics.

"Other than that, (it's) luck, I guess, judging from all the years I've been playing."

Nakamine picked winners of close games such as Houston over Tennessee, Atlanta over Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh over Baltimore. His pick of Cincinnati over Washington was "luck," he said.

Luck or not, the prize — he won second-place in this game before — turned out to be the biggest prize in his life.

"I guess I would have to say it's a good Christmas present for myself."