Phil “The Unabomber” Laak
Born in Dublin, Ireland and raised in Boston Phil Laak developed an early passion for games of all kinds. Phil graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, but after working as an engineer, repo man, stock trader and real estate investor, Phil found himself drawn back to the world of games and competition.
Phil soon found he could make a good living playing backgammon, but then went on to discover a much more lucrative game in poker. In 1999, after a brief stint in New York City, Phil moved west where he became a regular in the Bay Area cash games. By 2003 he found himself making his living playing poker in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the cities he co-resides to this day.
Phil’s tournament play has seen him enjoy 36 cashes, which include nine from the World Poker Tour, and eight at the WSOP. In 2005 he took first place in the William Hill Grand Prix for $265,000. He cashed in the 2008 and 2010 NBC Heads-Up Championships for $25,000 each time and four times in the 2010 PartyPoker Premier League for a total of $146,000 after winning Heat 1, 2 and 4. In 2009 Phil won the World Poker Open V for $250,000.
Phil has also appeared on NBC’s Poker After Dark where he won two of the weekly episodes, cashing for $120,000 each time.
A regular grinder in high stakes cash games, Phil can often be found playing at the Commerce Casino in L.A. and at the Bellagio when he’s in Las Vegas. As a regular participant on the ever-popular High Stakes Poker TV show, Phil once won $281,610 in 12.5 hours.
Phil’s combination of table antics, razor intellect and success at the felt helped to make him one of the most recognizable poker pros in the world. His standard outfit at the poker table, which consists of a hoodie and sunglasses, earned him the name of “The Unabomber” because of his resemblance to the forensic sketch of Theodore Kaczynski.
In addition to playing poker and writing a regular column for Bluff Magazine, he co-hosts ‘I Bet You’ with his friend and former roommate Antonio Esfandiari. In its third season they can be seen betting each other on anything from who can do the best interpretive dance to who can panhandle for the most change.
Always a colorful character, Phil’s mad skills at the felt have helped him earn over $1.9 million in career tournament winnings.
Julien "The Buldozer" LAGARDE
Born in Béziers in the South of France, Julien lived there until the age of eight. He then left to Lyon where he studied and graduated with a communication diploma from a business school near Lyon. After completing his schooling he worked for a Communication company as well the restaurant in the Lyon's casino.
Following that, within a yeah, he made the Students blog for Partouche Pokerr. Julien began playing poker amongst friends, normally playing in small limit Stud games.
He now plays in many European tournaments on the EPT circuit, as well in online cashgame for the past 6 years. He's a regular player of the 6 tabling No limit 200€. In addition this this, Julien also works in marketing for a large French company.
So how did Julien meet Phil? A rather funny anecdote actually. They met in the safe boot of the shuttle which drove them from the hotel 3.14 to the Cannes casino during the PPT.
Chad Holloway
Born and raised in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Chad started playing five-card draw at the age of five with his friends. As the years passed by, so did the stakes, progressing from baseball cards to quarters. Like so many others, Chad learned his favorite game, No Limit Texas Hold’em, by watching the 1998 film, Rounders.
Chad began focusing on his poker game after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He spent a brief stint in New Orleans where he played at Harrah’s Casino and in Biloxi, Mississippi. Chad now spends his time playing online and in casinos across the Midwest. He has also had the privilege of playing in Madison, Wisconsin with the same group of people Phil Hellmuth played with before winning the 1989 WSOP.
A participant of all fantasy sports, Chad took up Fantasy Poker in 2006 and has become quite prolific on the game. He regularly writes Fantasy Poker related articles, many of which have appeared in Poker Pro Magazine and Online Poker Pro Magazine. His articles are also featured at Predictem.com. In addition, Chad was chosen as a poker writer/reporter for BLUFF Magazine at the 2009 World Series of Poker where he was responsible for reporting the action, updating websites and interviewing poker’s biggest names. In 2010, he landed a similar gig with PokerNews and was subsequently hired on as a full-time writer for that site. He currently serves as a Senior Writer for PokerNews, which often takes him to tournament venues around the world.
Chad can be found playing at UnaBomber Poker under the screen name “LuckBox07.”
Katrina “Xsporean10” Lim
Coming from the humid tropics of Singapore, Katrina Lim has spent most of her life in sunny Southern California. Her love for games began in the early 80s when she was introduced to the Intellivision and Colecovision video game systems and she’s been a gamer ever since. After earning her degree in Technical & Professional Writing, Katrina made it a priority to enjoy life and have FUN! She’s held many fun jobs from playing video games to playing tennis, counting money, and dressing up like cartoon characters.
One day after placing 6th in a blackjack tournament, Katrina’s father told her poker could be more lucrative and introduced her to the game in 2004. She won her first tournament 15 months later.
Then after 7 years in corporate America, Katrina started playing poker for a living 10 months ago. Her homes are in Las Vegas and Orange County, CA where she plays both cash games and tournaments. Although Katrina favors live play, she also grinds online under the screen names, Xsporean and Xsporean10. She credits much of her poker success to her professional pals: Anna Wroblewski, Ted Forrest, Jon “Pearljammer” Turner, and Tracey “Xtracey” Nguyen. All have helped her improve her poker prowess, although Katrina insists she’s the best ping pong player among the group.
Playing poker for a living has given Katrina many perks. She enjoys the flexibility and freedom to “work” when she wants and she likes being her own boss, all the while having fun doing what she loves! Katrina’s other interests away from the felt include the gym, making jewelry, traveling, and cooking. She has a huge passion for food! All food! The more food the better! Food rules!
Katrina’s excited to work with Phil Laak as they not only share a love for poker, but they always remember to have fun along the way. She’d love to hear from her fellow poker players too!