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
7
by Jake
After 115 hours of playing poker, Phil Laak has finally decided to take a nap.
With the Guinness World Record for longest poker session neatly tucked under his arm 43 hours ago, Phil Laak finally went to bed with a new world record of 115 hours! He even finished $6,766 in the black, half of which will go to the charity he was raising money for, Camp Sunshine.
Fans and supporters might be interested to know that Phil’s poker room, Unabomber Poker, is currently offering all new depositors the opportunity to get custom hoodies signed by Phil. All players need to do is open an account and earn 2,500 frequent player points within 30 days.
It was a wild ride for Phil and everyone who was there cheering him on. You can review the story of how he did through blog posts here on the Unabomber Poker Blog, on his Twitter feed as well as the Phil Laak Guinness World Record Image Gallery.
You can even watch the last hour or so of Phil before he hits 115 hours. Check it out below:
Thanks to everyone who was out there rooting for Phil. He’s probably dreaming of you all right now.
Jun
7
by Taylor Kent
100 hours and counting - Phil is still going strong.
First it was 80 hours, then 90 hours - and now our man Phil Laak has crossed the 100-hour mark in his record-shattering poker session at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Once again a crowd was gathered for another milestone moment, and again they counted down the last 10 seconds. ESPN's cameras rolled as Phil stood up on his chair ("The only time you can stand on your chair in a casino," he told the assembled poker fans) and lifted his arms as he celebrated the first triple-digit hour of this attempt. "200 hours, Phil!" shouted one fan, and everyone in the room laughed. "Don't encourage him," Jennifer Tilly said with a smile. There was no champagne toast this time around, but it's probably better that way - the less Phil does anything to slow himself down, the further he can push this record.
Logic says that Phil will eventually have to call an end to the session and finalize his world record, but at this point there's no way of knowing how long it will be. In the meantime, we watch and wait. As usual, the best way to keep up with Phil is to check out the live stream coming from Bellagio, or to follow him on Twitter.