Jul
12
by Jake
You too could be sporting your very own custom Unabomber Poker hoodie signed by Phil Laak.
Phil Laak has been giving away custom signed Unabomber hoodies to anybody who opens a new account and earns at least 2,500 Frequent Player Points (FPPs) before August 5th. Make sure that you use the promo code “FreeHoodie” when signing up to get your signed Phil Laak hoodie.
You’ll still enjoy Unabomber’s generous 110% sign up bonus on top of it, so download the free poker software and open an account today.
If you already play on Unabomber Poker, have no fear, you can also score yourself a signed hoodie by earning 2,500 FPPs between June 15th and August 5th.
Jun
23
by Jake
For those of you who weren’t able to stay up for 115 hours straight and catch all of Phil Laak’s progress as he broke the Guinness World Record for longest poker session, we’ve got a highlight video recap for you.
Check it out and if you haven’t done so already, you can sign up for a Unabomber Poker account and get a signed Phil Laak hoodie for earning 2,500 frequent player points before July 5.
Jun
15
by Taylor Kent
It’s been better than a week now since our man Phil Laak broke the world record for the longest continuous poker session. Phil’s record may not stand up forever, but memories of his mammoth marathon session are certain to live on for many years with two poker players in particular: Darrel and Gytis, the two men who won contests to travel to Bellagio and take part in Phil’s record attempt.
Both Darrel and Gytis stayed at Bellagio and got the opportunity to play in the game with Phil. Darrel, from Washington, wrote a poem to become the first contest winner - you can check it out here. He had actually played with Phil one time before - a fact he referenced in his contest-winning verse - so he was comfortable at the table with the man of the hour.
Phil and Darrel at Bellagio during Phil's record-breaking session
Meanwhile Gytis, from Lithuania, won an 18-man freeroll tournament for the biggest trip of his life. The 26-hour journey from Vilnius to Las Vegas gave him his first opportunity to visit the United States, which would have been exciting enough on its own. But it also turns out that Phil is one of his favorite poker players.
“I like his style, how he plays and how he entertains the table,” Gytis said of Phil. “It’s fun to watch. He’s entertaining at every table on High Stakes Poker, Poker after Dark and the National Heads-Up Championship.”
Gytis and Phil at the 34-hour mark.
He said his time at the tables with Phil was “the most epic moment of my trip.” Normally Gytis plays $1/$2 no-limit hold’em, so Phil agreed to stake him for 90% so that he would be able to play as if it were his normal game. “In a $1/$2 game you play ABC, but unfortunately it was much harder to beat those regulars with huge chip towers who make fancy plays. But it felt amazing sitting there next to Phil all the cameras pointed at me and playing the highest stakes in my life. It was an awesome experience.”
Just as impressive as the Bellagio experience was the city of Las Vegas itself. “Vegas is awesome,” Gytis told me. “You see it on TV, in videos, but you have to be here yourself. When the plane was landing it was nighttime and I saw all the lights, it was so crazy! And then I went out of the airport, and the air - you feel so alive. You have to come here to feel it.”
Between the spectacle of the city, the atmosphere at Bellagio and historic moments at the table with Phil Laak, it’s a sure bet that neither Gytis nor Darrel will forget their time in Las Vegas during Phil’s record-breaking session.
Jun
15
by Chad Holloway
Congratulations to Phil Laak for demolishing the poker endurance world record. I actually had the opportunity to stop in and see the record-breaking attempt at around Hour 40. Laak looked strong and sociable, with no sign of slowing down. The set up was also pretty cool. There were cameras broadcasting everything live. The whole poker room at the Bellagio had a strange vibe, like everyone was there rooting for Phil; in fact, I heard there were a number of players in the cash game who tried staying up right alongside Phil. What he accomplished is simply amazing and I can only imagine how well he slept once he hit his bed. Now that it’s done, I look forward to seeing Phil in action at the World Series of Poker.
Speaking of the WSOP, it has been hectic. As you know, I am working as a blogger/field reporter for PokerNews. This means incredibly long hours, but it is a blast. Tom “Durrrr” Dwan made a final table last week and the buzz around the Rio was electric. Dwan had so many bracelet bets with some of poker’s biggest names (I.e. Negreanu, Matusow, Brunson, etc.) and stood to win millions if he took down a bracelet. Players were eliminated one by one from the final table, yet Dwan remained. He got heads-up against Jason Dewitt, but he couldn’t seal the deal. Many in the poker community breathed a collective sigh of relief when Dwan was eliminated. It wasn’t that they didn’t want him to win a bracelet, they just didn’t want him to win one this year. Regardless, the atmosphere in the Rio that night was awesome.
In other WSOP news, a number of notables have won bracelets thus far. For example, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi captured the $50,000 Player’s Championship; Praz Bansi won a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event; Men “The Master” Nguyen won his seventh bracelet by taking down the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship; and Matt Matros won his first bracelet by winning the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event. Numerous big name pros have been making final tables, so it’ll be interesting to see who ends up with a bracelet in the coming weeks.
In Fantasy Poker news, I am currently in sixth place in the 2010 ESPN Fantasy League. For those of you who don’t know about this league, check out Andrew Feldman’s ESPN article at http://espn.go.com/sports/fantasy/blog/_/name/poker/id/5215225/espn-fifth-annual-fantasy-poker-draft. Not too shabby considering it’s my first year, but a few in the pack seem to be pulling away. I’m going to need a strong showing from my team if I’m going to compete. Here are the standings after the first 20 events:
Lederer: 257
Bradley: 176
Seif: 164
Negreanu: 149
Smith: 103
Holloway: 95
Wise: 76
Feldman: 66
Lee: 36
Phillips: 20
Baldwin : 15
Chops: 7
That’s it for now. I have to get back to covering the $1,000 Event. I plan on blogging as often as possible from the series, so check back soon. Also, if you’re interested in hearing about a specific event, player, etc. at the WSOP, let me know by leaving a comment and I will try to mention something about it in the next blog.