Unabomber Shatters Poker Endurance World Record
Las Vegas, Nevada - June 7, 2010 - Poker professional Phil "The Unabomber" Laak has set a new world record for the most hours of poker played in a single sitting. Laak beat the prior official Guinness World Record as well as the unofficial poker community record by playing for 115 hours.
Taking place at the luxurious Bellagio Poker Room in Las Vegas, Laak started playing at 12:04pm on June 2, and broke the world record by 36 hours and 15 minutes when he stopped at 7:04am on June 7.
"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."
Laak used the record-breaking attempt to raise money for Camp Sunshine, an organization that provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child's illness. Laak donated half of his winnings, or $3,383, and raised additional funds by selling several of his signature hooded sweatshirts, along with numerous tee shirts worn during the record setting game, for up to $500 each. He also won a 58th hour challenge to do 30 pushups for a $1,000 donation to the Camp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEY8-Gkd60Y). Additionally, fans were able to donate $10 to the camp by texting "SUNSHINE" to 20222.
Many of Laak's poker pro friends and peers came to play with him or offer support. In addition to his longtime girlfriend, actress and poker pro, Jennifer Tilly, other pros who stopped by included Scotty Nguyen, Prahlad Freidman, James Mitchell, Rod Fani, Eric Liu, Huck Seed, David Wells, Mike Matusow, Jean-Robert Bellande and more.
Regarding the record setting session Tilly noted "Phil has accomplished an incredible feat of human endurance. He's like an Olympic athlete. It's inspiring to see what an ordinary man can accomplish if he just sets his mind to it," adding, "I can't believe my boyfriend is such a weirdo!"
Laak's record setting game was a thoroughly modern affair that included Laak tweeting throughout to give updates to his followers at https://twitter.com/RealPhilLaak, and an ongoing web video stream of his game that was viewed in 120 countries by over 177,000 people. The Unabomber Poker Blog has plenty of coverage of the event as well as a Picture Gallery composed of images from the entire challenge. Additionally, UnabomberPoker.com is currently offering custom signed Phil Laak hoodies to all new signups to the site.
Laak was supported by a team (Susan von Seggern, Jeff Bass, John Srednicki, Ace Jones, Jennifer Tilly, Wolf Rosenberg) who rotated in shifts to ensure that the proper Guinness documentation requirements were kept. He was also brought meals every five hours by nutritionist, "All American Dave," who kept Laak's blood sugar at a consistent level with a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean chicken and fish and Laak's new favorite, sweet potatoes.
Phil "The Unabomber" Laak is an internationally recognized poker pro, known for his iconic look at the poker table where he wears sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head. He is also a regular on televised poker shows like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. His animated personality, banter at the tables and interest in participating in sometimes bizarre propositional bets have also contributed to his renown.
The AAA Five Diamond award-winning Bellagio will played host to the record-breaking challenge as it will to the World Poker Tour's Bellagio Cup in late June.
Doug Dalton, Director of Poker Operations at Bellagio said, "We are thrilled to be a part of history and to support Phil in breaking the world record. He is a great customer and friend of ours. The Bellagio Poker Room staff was happy to be part of the record effort."
