This has been a hell of a year for Phil Laak

September 25th, 2010

This has been a hell of a year for Phil Laak.

On June 7, 2010 Phil Laak made poker history when he broke the Guiness Book World Record for Poker Endurance. Laak had played 115 straight hours of poker, dominating the previous record of 78 hours and 45 minutes.1
On August 5, 2010 Phil Laak suffered an accident while riding ATVs with friends in Oregon. The Dublin-born, U.S.-raised professional poker player was hospitalized with multiple injuries, including a severely broken wrist, rib injuries, a dislocated elbow, and a nasty blow to the eye that left Laak’s right eyelid barely attached. Laak was predictably candid on his highly active Twitter page,2 posting Twitpics gruesome and aplenty. These included shots of Laak in his initial hospital stay,3 before even having his eyelid sewn back on4 and later tweets chronicled his recovery.5 Laak’s August 5 tweet about the accident was especially poetic as the professional poker player took a picture of himself and sent a message from his hospital bed:
“Atv accident, massive arm injury and lacerations to eye in Oregon. Life is good http://twitpic.com/2byjbo 10:07 PM Aug 5th via Twitpic”

On September 8, 2010, Phil Laak turned 38 years old. He had undergone several surgeries since his accident. He had been on a tear in Europe, making money in several countries. On his birthday, Laak cashed for 52000 euros in London.
On September 16, 2010 Phil Laak won his first bracelet in Event 1 of the World Series of Poker Europe, a ?2,650 buy-in Six-handed No Limit Hold’em Event. At the final table, Laak eliminated Ilak Rouah and later Chris Bjorin. Phil Laak then took on Andrew Pantling heads up and Laak came out victorious, netting £170,802 (or $267,010). So, on September 16, a little over a month after posting a self portrait of the hospitalized poker professional, Laak tweeted a victory tweet:
“Maximum cheeze shippage.£170,802 ($267,010). Plus some gold! Holla!! http://twitpic.com/2p1mpp 4:54 PM Sep 16th via Twitpic”

The accompanying picture showed Laak with all the chips, his winning hand, and a WSOPE bracelet around his Yukon Jack decorated cast.
This newsworthy pro has been a media darling for a while in his poker career, appearing often on television and staying web savvy with his Twitter account (which boasts 15,019 followers), his website (phillaakpoker.com), and his online poker site (unabomberpoker.com), which includes Phil’s blog with hints and tips. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he’s dating Jennifer Tilly, who became famous as an actor and is now also known (in part due to tutelage from Laak) as a professional poker player.
Previous to his 2010 WSOPE win, Laak’s biggest tournament cash was in 2005, when he won the William Hill Tournament Grand Prix to the tune of £150,000 ($265,000).
According to Laak’s website, he grew up playing games and had a shrewd mind for numbers (especially when those numbers were counting money. Laak went on to earn a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts. After college and trips across the U.S. and then Europe and Turkey, Laak returned to the U.S. and found he could support himself by playing backgammon for money, which all lead to Laak’s eventual career as a professional poker player.6
Phil Laak has had highs and lows this year, but, with a famous girlfriend, his first bracelet, and big poker tournament cashes, and narrowly escaping serious injury and death, he is sure to be counted on the fortunate side, as long as he can only stay away from those ATVs.