Tuesday, June 8, 2010
  Longest poker game - Phil Laak sets world record
  LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Poker star Phil Laak , 37, played live poker for over 115 hours with a net of $6766 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker - setting the new world record for the Longest poker game .

 Photo: Poker player Phil Laak. / AFP photo ( enlarge photo )

   The previous Guinness world record for the Longest poker game
was 72 hours and 2 minutes, held by Larry Olmsted set at the Foxwood casino in 2004, but in poker circles the world record set by Dave Cain - 74 hours and 12 minutes at the Library Bar in Lincolnshire, England.

   "Wow, 115 hours, I should have my head examined," said Laak, as the number appeared on the running clock on a laptop screen next to his seat at the Bellagio Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas. "I am definitely sick."

    He was permitted a five-minute break for every hour he played and could bank those for longer breaks. While he vowed he did not consume any caffeine or stimulants, he did manage at least one 30-minute nap.

    Laak is the boyfriend of Academy Award nominee Jennifer Tilly, an actress who in recent years has also become a poker professional.

    Laak did it while playing $10-$20 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker.

    The World's  Longest Poker Game was witnessed live via a webcam by more than 130,000 people each day from more than 90 nations.

    He had a nutritionist providing meals every five hours and he had been on a strict no-sweets, low-fat diet since January to prepare for the feat. Laak said he did not use any drugs or stimulants during the attempt.

    Link: Phil Laak on Facebook

    Laak, whose poker nickname is “The Unabomber,” won his first tournament on the professional poker circuit in early 2004, and has cumulatively won over $1,975,000.

    The Longest poker game in The World was partly a promotion his online poker room, unabomberpoker.com (he’s known for wearing a hooded sweatshirt over his head at the tables) but he was also pretty stoked about setting a new world record.

Laak promised to donate half his 6,766 dollars in winnings to Camp Sunshine, a Maine camp for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. In addition, visitors to his blog , Twitter site and the webcam feed were encouraged to donate to the cause via text message.

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