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.
Jun
4
by Jake
Posted above is the video from Phil's poker endurance challenge halfway point of 40 hours.
And don't forget, you can catch the live stream here and follow Phil on Twitter here.
Jun
4
by Jake
With so many great photos come in from Vegas we decided to put together an image collection called The Phil Laak Guinness World Record Poker Endurance Attempt Gallery, or the PLGWRPEAG is you prefer.
As of the writing of this, Phil is 45 hours and still looking decent. You can follow him on the live streaming video as well as keep up with him via his Twitter feed.
May
20
by Phil
I still remember to this day looking through an old copy of the Guinness Book of World Records. I read it from cover to cover. It wasn’t long before I started thinking of breaking one of these records and getting myself into that book. There were a few that I thought I had a shot at.
I remember two of them. Pogo stick hops and memorizing pi. Basically drawn dead and not knowing it I made a few futile attempts at both of these and soon learned the harsh but real truth. Getting the record for something when you are up against billions of people is more difficult then I had suspected. At one point I even entertained the idea of starting a new category. Of course, that went nowhere as well, and by the time High School rolled around I had accepted my fate. Getting into the Guinness Book of World Records wasn’t going to be happening for me. Ok, no worries, move on.
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Cut to about 8 years ago I found myself playing an enduro session of poker. Over time I played maybe about 10 or so of these enduro sessions (all between 40 and 60 hours) and it got me to thinking.
Maybe getting into that book is not so far fetched after all. Maybe, just maybe this could be it! There were only three things in the way.
1) I always seemed to fall asleep at the table.
2) Every few years the record got harder and harder to beat. (Others were thinking the same thing as me!) And…
3) With each new enduro session getting it done took more effort than the one before.
On the plus side…
1) I know that deep down in me is a machine that seems fueled by the impossibility of it all.
2) If I knew I was going for an official record, then maybe I could dodge the ‘between hand naps’ altogether.
And let’s face it, what would life be without challenges? Well, it would be living I suppose, but just not as fun. And fun is a major tenet in my life philosophy so I thought I would give it a try.
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Anyway, I have been training since January 1 for this event. Time to beat: 78 hours. Held by my buddy from across the pond, Paul Zimbler.
What have I been doing to train you ask? Good question. Basically here is the run down.
Essentially I broke it down into three components. Body, mind, and spirit.
For my BODY:
I have been running, swimming, or going to the gym 5 times a week.
I have kept a tight leash on what I put into my body food wise. Great diet. (Special emphasis on not eating anything fried, cheese, or ice cream.) (By the way, I really love popcorn shrimp, fried calamari, mint flavored ice cream and Gouda cheese.) But more on this under ‘Spirit”.
For my MIND:
Every time I was eating well or at the gym I tried to remind myself that through these actions breaking the record would become effortless. (Neuro-linguistic programming at work.)
For my SPIRIT:
Each time I see fried food, cheese and ice cream I converted those food items into trigger points of effortless detachment. The thinking goes like this. By training myself to not want things I want very much, I will be ready and prepared to effortlessly not want the sleep that my body will inevitably want VERY badly. 6 months of training of not getting what I want will give me the much needed edge I will need.
If mint ice cream happens to be in front of me, now instead of craving it (or any of my other favorite foods) I am reminded of how effortless it is to not want the things I want. My will power is at an all time life high because of this.
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For what it’s worth. This training did not come from some secret military training manual or anything. I came up with all of this on my own. It may sound like a crack pot sort of training regimen but to be honest… every time I look at it, it seems genius. Maybe it is in some sort of weird top secret military manual and we just have never seen it. Titled… “How to beat the need for sleep on weird navy recon spy missions” or something like that.
How do I feel today?
My weight has dropped from 211 to 190. I feel fantastic. My will power is at an all time high, and I am ready to take on this challenge.
The Bellagio has agreed to host this event. I plan on starting at noon on the 2nd of June. And my goal is to get to 80 hours.
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I have played many enduro sessions of poker, but never anything of this magnitude. I know this will test my limits but I love a good challenge and am excited to be trying to beat this record in Vegas’ top poker room.
Good luck to me!
Phil Laak
Degen for Life