Phil Laak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Phil Laak in the World Poker Tour celebrity invitational |
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| Nickname(s) | The Unabomber |
|---|---|
| Hometown | San Francisco, California |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finishes | 3 |
| Highest ITM main event finish |
None |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Titles | 1 |
| Final tables | 3(+2) |
| Money Finishes | 6(+1) |
Phil "The Unabomber" Laak (pronounced "lock"; born September 8, 1972 in Dublin, Ireland) is a professional poker player, now residing in San Francisco, California.
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[edit] Early life
Laak was raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and now lives in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked as an engineer, a repo man, a stock day-trader, and a real estate investor, prior to getting into open poker games in California.
He is former roommates and good friends with fellow professional poker player Antonio Esfandiari. Now, the two of them star in a TV show, I Bet You, on the INHD network.
[edit] Poker career
Laak won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Invitational in February 2004. He has made two other WPT final tables since - 6th place in both the season 2 Battle of Champions and the 2005 Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
At the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Laak finished second to Johnny Chan in the $2,500 pot limit hold 'em event.
Laak defeated Ram Vaswani to win the inaugural William Hill Poker Grand Prix, taking home the £150,000 first prize.
He has also competed in numerous Poker Royale series.
Laak appears on seasons two and three of High Stakes Poker on GSN.
Served as the dealer on the short-lived television series E! Hollywood Hold'em.
On NBC's Poker After Dark Laak won the weekly prize of $120,000. The tournament was entitled "Phil Phil" because both Phil Laak and Phil Hellmuth were contenders. Laak eliminated Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Harman, and Erik Seidel. This tournament aired the week of January 15.
As of 2007, Laak's total live tournament winnings exceed $1,109,634.
[edit] Nickname and personality
Laak became known widely in the poker scene as the "Unabomber" because of the hooded sweatshirt (given to him by fellow poker professional Gus Hansen[1]) and sunglasses he wears at the table, making him resemble the forensic sketch of Theodore Kaczynski who was known as the Unabomber. Another nickname that is less frequently used is Darth Maul, for his resemblance to the hooded villain.
Laak is famous for pulling closed the drawstrings on his sweatshirt's hood to hide his face during large hands, and is well-known for his other antics at the poker table, such as doing push-ups to celebrate winning hands, running behind the dealer during showdowns to see which card will come up next, and getting entirely ready to leave whenever he pushes all-in (usually significant as he replaces his shoes). On the Poker After Dark program in 2007 he lay down on the floor during a particularly stressful hand, and actually climbed onto the table in anticipation of the final river draw in the last hand of the game. His behavior makes him popular with some fans, but has drawn criticism from others who believe Laak is acting unprofessionally.
He is currently dating actress Jennifer Tilly, who won a WSOP bracelet in 2005 in the $1,000 buy-in Ladies no limit hold'em championship. Tilly has since been nicknamed "The Unabombshell."
