Phil Laak - Nickname and Personality

Nickname and Personality

Laak became known widely in the poker scene as the "Unabomber" because of the hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he wears at the table, making him resemble the forensic sketch of Theodore Kaczynski who was known as the Unabomber. These items were given to him by fellow poker player Gus Hansen. Laak is known also for his unusual and inventive manner of speech. He coined the poker term "felted" to mean having lost all of one's chips (i.e. nothing left in front of the player except the table felt).

He is currently dating actress Jennifer Tilly, who won a WSOP bracelet in 2005 in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies no limit Texas hold 'em championship.

Phil Laak played the first day of the Main Event of the 2008 World Series of Poker incognito, in a latex mask, wig, make-up and costume. His disguise was reported thereafter by AP reporter Oskar Garcia. The WSOP 2009 rules added a new rule prohibiting wearing masks at the table.

On June 2–7, 2010, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Laak set the world record in longest time spent playing poker in a single session. He halted at 115 hours. The previous official record, 72 hours and 2 minutes, was held by Larry Olmsted, set at the Foxwood casino in 2004. Guinness allows one 5-minute break every hour, in which Laak could do whatever he wanted, and Laak could "bank" those 5-minute breaks into longer breaks if he played through. Laak banked several breaks to take a 30-minute nap (allowed), but he vows that he did not use caffeine or any stimulants. Playing $10/$20 No Limit Hold'em (with uncapped buyins), Laak finished up $6,766 and donated half of his winnings to charity. He did this for Camp Sunshine, a charity that helps sick children enjoy summer camp. His feat was witnessed live on streaming video by over 130,000 people. However, this record has subsequently been broken by British poker player Barry "Jack 8 Potato" Denson, who set a new record of 120 hours and 20 minutes at the Grosvenor G Casino between July 1 and 6, 2012. The new record is pending verification by Guinness World Records.