Feb
28
by Jake
At 7:04am on June 7, 2010 Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, set a new world record for the most hours of poker played in a single sitting after 115 hours. Setting a world record and having a record officially verified by the Guinness Book of World Records are two different things however and Unabomber Poker is proud to announce that Phil Laak has now been officially named the new and current holder for the record of 'Longest marathon playing poker by an individual'.
Attaining the Guinness World Record required meeting stringent standards and providing proof and verification of certain facts that included: witnesses, media coverage following the event, video evidence, drug tests administered by a doctor on site, log books detailing dealer’s names and times, Guinness Book of World Records log books detailing the record breaker’s activity and rest times among other things.
Taking place at the luxurious Bellagio Poker Room in Las Vegas, Laak started playing at 12:04pm on June 2, 2010 and broke the previous world record by 36 hours and 15 minutes when he stopped at 7:04am on June 7, 2010.
"I was shooting for 80 hours all along and eventually it came. The obvious next step was to honor the moment by making the most of it. A gambling degenerate by trade this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what my inner vampire was really made of,” stated Laak. “Well we sure found out! It was loads of fun and of course impossible without my crew. This has been one of the most wonderful journeys I’ve ever taken, touchingly human and beautiful on so many levels. Thanks to everyone who shared in this amazing ride.”
Since breaking the record Laak has continued his storied and colorful career by winning a World Series of Poker Europe bracelet for the ₤2,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship. Laak’s first WSOP bracelet followed a serious all-terrain vehicle accident that left Laak hospitalized with a broken elbow and other injuries and saw him win the tournament while wearing a cast.
You can check out a video recap of Phil Laak breaking the poker endurance record, or check out all the poker endurance challenge blogs on Unabomber for a complete review of how the momunmental event went down.
Feb
22
by Chad Holloway
I recently returned from a visit to Tunica, Mississippi for the World Series of Poker Circuit stop being held at Harrah’s. As usual, the trip was on poker news business, but really they always turn out to be working vacations. This was my first time in Tunica and I must say I was pretty impressed. The shuttle from the Memphis airport was pleasant and the customer service made a positive impression on me. I could tell right away that I was going to enjoy myself.
The first thing I did when I got there was check-in, put my bags down, and then headed to the poker room. It was a Saturday night, so Harrah’s Tunica poker room was in full swing. I only played a short two-hour session at a $2-$5 hold’em game before my PokerNews colleague, Mickey Doft, arrived. I left the game with my buy-in plus an extra $1 chip as a souvenir (something I take from every casino I play at). It was lights out early that night to be prepared for the start of the WSOP-C $1,500 Main Event in the morning. Unfortunately, I wasn’t playing but rather live reporting the tournament action for PokerNews.com (which powers the WSOP.com updates as well).
The Main Event drew 480 entrants and created a prize pool of $698,400. The biggest name in the field was Dwyte Pilgrim, who I find to always be friendly and upbeat whenever I see him on the circuit. Also in the field were regulars Kevin Calenzo, Chris Tryba, Maurice Hawkins, Stephen Kats, and many more. Day 1 was grueling and by the time it was done at around 2 AM, I was beat. No poker for me on Sunday night.
Monday’s Day 2 was much better. The field was smaller and more manageable, making my job a hell of a lot easier. Plus, I had the best tournament reporter in the business, talking of course about Doft, working alongside me. By midnight, the field had reduced itself to a final table and action came to a halt. That meant it was time for some poker. I hit up the poker room at Harrah’s yet again for a little $2-$5 action and I wasn’t disappointed. There was a maniac at my table who threw around money like a Saudi prince in Vegas. I mean this guy would raise $70 under the gun without looking at his cards. He’d follow that up with a blind bet in the dark for anyone who called him, sometimes for as much as $300. I was licking my chops and decided to pick my spots carefully. Unfortunately, those spots did not come often. The one time I picked up aces and limped from early position, no one raised behind and I won a small pot. I managed to win a little, which was nice, but I still felt I missed out on a lot of value. I ended up leaving the game a little after five in the morning in order to get a little rest.
The next day the final table commenced and took around seven hours to complete. During that time, I witnessed the biggest meltdown I’ve ever seen in poker. Kurt Jewell, who won the Main Event of the WSOP-C Hammond stop, entered the final table as one of the big stacks. After clashing with the chip leader, Jewell amassed 4.7 million in chips, about 50% of the chips in play. This was when there were still nine players left. Ninety minutes later, or a little over one level, Jewell was out in eighth place. No one could believe it. His downfall was a mix of lost coinflips, tilt, and frustration. If you want more specifics on what exactly happened, check out the PokerNews live reporting blog. In the end, here is how the final table played out:
Place - Player - Hometown - Winnings
1st - Sam Barnhart - Little Rock, AR - $148,612
2nd - Jesse White - Billings, MT - $91,881
3rd - Mary Harden - Ooltewah, TN - $67,122
4th - Brian Burney - Branson, MO - $49,759
5th - Marco Palacios - Austin, TX - $37,422
6th - John Nguyen - Fairview Heights, IL - $28,547
7th - Preston Derden - Houston, TX - $22,084
8th - Kurt Jewell - Frankfurt, KY - $17,328
9th - John Holley - Destin, FL - $13,789
Once the final table was done, Doft and I decided to catch a shuttle to the Horseshoe Casino to check out their poker room. I always enjoy the Horseshoe properties and this was no different. Outside was a bad-ass, old-school, bright-red limousine that caught my eye (Pictured below).
When we got to the poker room, I must say that I was impressed. They had a $1-$5 Stud game going, which surprised me. I usually don’t play games that small, but I hadn’t played Stud in years and was looking to have a fun, relaxing night. A cheap game and free drinks was the perfect combination. After getting taken for $55 in the Stud game, while throwing a few back, I changed to a $1-$3 no-limit hold’em game and promptly won my money back plus $100. Then, on my very last hand as I was racking up, I looked down at pocket kings and won a nice pot against a played with a missed flush draw and another with pocket queens. Tripling my profit before I left was a nice parting gift. I’ll definitely hit up the Horseshoe the next time I’m in Tunica. Lisa Crompton is the poker room manager there and she is doing a heck of a job. The players are well taken care of, the dealers are friendly, and there was a variety of games and tournaments to be had. They even had an announcement of Barnhart’s Main Event win since he is a regular in the room. I thought that was a classy thing to do in recognition of his achievement.
The next day I flew back home, or at least halfway home. My flight got cancelled in Chicago due to fog, so I had to get a ride from Chicago back home to south-central Wisconsin, about a three hour drive. Aside from the ending, the trip was fun. Good tournament, good people, and I came home with more than I left with. I hope I can do that in April when I head to the WSOP-C St. Louis stop where I will not only be reporting on the Main Event for PokerNews, but also playing some of the event, including my first WSOP-C ring events.
Feb
9
by Chad Holloway
The Main Event of the PCA didn’t finish until Saturday night when the final table reconvened for a revolutionary live (well technically a one-hour delay) broadcast on ESPN 2. The players, their supporters, dealers, tournament staff, cameramen, etc. were all sequestered on a restricted stage so the results couldn’t be revealed during the delay. They had to go through a metal detector and everything. That meant an eliminated player had to sit and wait an hour before being released. The live broadcast process had a few kinks, but all told it was a big success and will likely change the way poker is shown on TV for years to come.
For those interested in the Main Event, here were the final table standings:
Place | Player | Prize
1st Galen Hall $2,300,000
2nd Chris Oliver $1,800,000
3rd Anton Ionel $1,350,000
4th Sam Stein $1,000,000
5th Mike Sowers $700,000
6th Bolivar Palacios $450,000
7th Max Weinberg $300,000
8th Philippe Plouffe $202,000
The Main Event was followed by two more events, the $25,000 High Roller and $5,000 Bounty Shootout. I covered both and they were complete opposite experience. First, the $25K High Roller was an absolute blast. The event drew 151 players, exceeding the most optimistic of expectations, and generated a prize pool of $3,699,500. The field was littered with recognizable faces and the action was of the highest caliber. The final table was completely stacked, and included Will Molson, the man who had finished as runner up in both 2009 and 2010. Amazingly, Molson made it to heads-up play again, facing off against Argentinean Pro Leo Fernandez , and managed to finally take down the title. Molson’s performance in the past three PCA $25K High Rollers is nothing short of spectacular. Here was how that final table ended:
Place | Player | Prize
1st Will Molson $1,072,850
2nd Leo Fernandez $544,925
3rd Max Lykov $369,950
4th Erik Seidel $295,950
5th Govert Metaal $240,470
6th David “Bakes” Baker $203,475
7th Matt Marafioti $166,480
8th Jason Mercier $129,480
At the other end of the spectrum, there was the $5,000 Shootout, which was pure hell. I probably watched Michael Binger sit in the tank thinking about decisions for 5 hours throughout the event. I’m not even exaggerating. I like Michael and think he is a great player, but he is so methodical and deliberate that he takes forever on every decision, even the minimal ones. It was by far the most boring tournament I’ve ever had to cover. In the first round, Binger played heads up for five hours! It wasn’t fun to watch, but I’ve got to give him credit; he battled through a tough match and played great poker. I admired his patience, refusal to quit, and ability to take it down. He managed to win his table in Round 2, having to eliminate his brother Nick in the process. The final table of six lasted somewhere around 12 hours (it took seven hours for the first elimination to occur), which is ridiculous considering it was a winner-take-all tournament (Andrew Chen ended up winning). I was so frustrated and bored that I don’t even want to write about it. Oh, and Binger finished second.
Other highlights from my trip to the PCA:
- Played basketball early one morning with the PokerNews crew, Matt Affleck, Vanessa Selbst, Garry Gates, and a few other people. I hadn’t played basketball in a long time and it showed. Both Affleck and Selbst were surprisingly good.
- Didn’t get to play any poker since we were on work visas; as such, we were forbidden to gamble or play cards.
- Ate at a restaurant in Nassau called “The Poop Deck”. Yes, that is its real name. I was skeptical but soon found out that it was a popular place to go. They had menus that had been signed by celebrities who’d visited hung all over the place. I ate the best mahi-mahi I’ve ever had there.
- Did interviews with Hoyt Corkins and Lars Bonding. Two totally different types of people, but both great guys. Those interviews can be found at PokerNews.com.
- Didn’t play a single hand of poker since we were technically on Bahamian work visas.
- Picked up two bottles of Havana Club rum, the best rum in the world and not available in the United States since it is made in Cuba.
In more recent news, on Thursday Feb. 3, 2011, I was sitting at home bored as can be and decided to log online and play in the weekly Twitter Poker Tour tournament run by my good friend Paul Ellis (@coolwhipflea). It is only a $5 tournament but is a lot of fun. Many of the players know each other and the tournament is usually accompanied by a podcast that has special guests and talks about current events in the poker world. To see what it’s all about, visit www.twitterpokertour. Anyway, the week I’m talking about drew 40 players, which was a smaller turnout than usual, and I actually managed to grind out a win. The very first hand my Ac-Qc help up against the A-J of “thereelgator” and I jumped to an early chip lead while sending my opponent to the rail. I managed to stay among the chip leaders all the way to the final table and then went to work stealing the hefty blinds and antes. The cards were in my favor and I finally got a long overdue victory. It was a modest win, but I got some cash and points on the TPT Leaderboard. All in all it was a fun time and I’ll surely play in the future.
Here is how that tournament turned out with TPT points for February:
1st- Chad “DISCO_CHAD” Holloway: 108.79 points
2nd- “cbcdmd”: 76.93 points
3rd- “BLIZGE”: 62.81 points
4th- “Myttazz”: 54.40 points
5th- “matmoeb”: 48.65 points
6th- “cabbagee”: 44.41 points
7th- “vip_nino”: 41.12 points
8th- “snookums101”: 38.46 points
9th- “callmeroger”: 36.26 points
Other than that, I will be heading to Tunica, Mississippi on Saturday Feb. 12, 2011 for PokerNews to do some live reporting on the Main Event of that World Series of Circuit stop. Of course my next blog will touch on that trip. Finally, I want to urge you to get on Twitter if you’re not already. News spreads in the poker world via Twitter like no other outlet. Once you’re on, search the following people and give them a follow, they Tweet some great stuff and will keep you on top of everything you need to know in poker: @ChadAHolloway, @RealPhilLaak, @PokerNews, @Donnie_Peters, @Eric_Ramsey, @Change100, @PredictemPoker and @PokerProMag.
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Tags: pca