It comes with the territory when one lives in an island state: Big waves barreling through the ocean will find their way onto shorelines — and slamming into any manmade structures such as houses and highways that happen to be in the way.

Nearly 60-foot wave sets were seen Monday, forcing the closure of 11.5 miles of Kamehameha Highway and beaches on Oahu’s North Shore, and keeping lifeguards on all shores busy with rescues and warnings into Tuesday.

Another swell was expected to arrive today, prompting hopes that the prestigious “Eddie” big-wave contest at Waimea Bay might be held Thursday; conditions, though, have to be just right. At any rate, the big surf is sure to generate a human wave of onlookers on the North Shore. Be careful out there.

House won’t bet on gambling

It would take a miracle to revive any legalized-gambling bills at the state Legislature this session. Even the hoopla over last month’s record-setting $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot couldn’t sway lawmakers to ride the lottery wave.

But House Speaker Joe Souki, who introduced a lottery bill, is undeterred. Gambling may be dead for this year, but “next year is another year,” he said. Never mind that bills promoting some form of legalized gambling have been introduced every year going back more than a century — with no results. Souki might have to wait until Gov. David Ige’s administration is over since Ige is not a fan of legalized gambling in Hawaii.