Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 17 September 2010 / Leave a Comment

Phil Laak won his first World Series gold bracelet yesterday in Event No. 1 of this year's World Series of Poker Europe, a £2,650 buy-in, six-handed no-limit hold'em event in which Betfair's own John Tabatabai took seventh. Laak bested a field of 244, including a tough final table, to take the title. (Click here to read Matthew Pitt's report on the six-handed final table.)

One interesting sidenote to Laak's bracelet win. It just so happens that yesterday -- September 16th -- was the birthday of his longtime partner, actress and poker player Jennifer Tilly. How about that? Her birthday, but he gets the jewelry.

The nearest Laak had ever come before to winning a WSOP bracelet was back in 2005 in the $2,500 pot-limit hold'em event in which he finished runner-up to Johnny Chan. That was the one remembered for Chan winning his 10th bracelet -- at the time a new all-time record -- and for an energetic Laak doing push-ups next to the table during heads-up play.

At the same time Laak's event with Chan was ending, Tilly had made it to the Ladies Event final table, and the next day she'd win the bracelet. Another sort-of-coincidence there -- Tilly eventually took her mother's last name, but she was born with a different last name, her father's. Can you guess what that was?

Chan.

I was intrigued yesterday to monitor reactions on Twitter, forums, and elsewhere to Phil Laak's deep run and eventual victory. The excitement was obvious. Many fans -- including fellow players and poker media -- wanted to see Laak win, and there were many expressions of congratulations and delight when he did.

For a variety of reasons -- one being his gregarious personality, frequently featured on poker television programs over the last several years -- Laak has become one of those players many enjoy rooting for. I know as a tournament reporter it has always been enjoyable to have Laak among those I am covering, as his frequent table talk and fun-loving demeanor tends to provide much to write about in addition to the hands themselves. He's just one of those who tends to keep things interesting.

Poker's Stunt Man

I was thinking back over the last few years' worth of stories about Laak and realized the figure he cut in the poker world most closely resembled that of a stunt man or thrill seeker. Right down to his nickname, the "Unabomber."

Actually, I always thought that nickname -- though distinct -- was a little bit unfortunate. The name came from the way Laak's hoodie evoked a resemblance to a police sketch artist's rendering of the infamous Ted Kaczynski, for years the only image that existed of the mail bomber before his capture and arrest in 1996. Who wants to be named after a terrorist, after all?

But in a way, Laak has made the name his own, at least within the poker world. And heck, it sounds like a stunt man's name, doesn't it? I mean, really, Phil "the Unabomber" Laak is the Evel Knievel of poker! Think about it.

There is that web-based show "I Bet You" in which Laak and his friend Antonio Esfandiari dare each other to perform all manner of stunts, wagering against one another as they do. The show has included the two engaging in a number of physical activities such as surfing, paintball, and roller derby, just to mention a few.

There are Laak's battles versus Polaris, the poker-playing computer program developed by the University of Alberta's Computer Poker Research Group. Laak and his partner Ali Eslami played against Polaris in 2007, winning a close match. (A retooled Polaris would come back to defeat another group of poker players the following year.)

Last week (in "A Game You Cannot Quit") I alluded to another of Laak's stunts -- that record-breaking 115-hour session of poker from back in early June. Another daredevil-like performance, that.

Also among Laak's list of stunts is that memorable turn at Day 1d of the 2008 WSOP Main Event posing as what appeared to be a middle-aged man, complete with a latex mask, tons of make-up, and white-haired mustache and beard.

I was there that day helping cover the WSOP for PokerNews, and though I was assigned to a different room than the one in which Laak was playing, it wouldn't have mattered. I still would have missed him. In fact, he made it through the entire day without being detected!

My colleague Garry Gates wrote a great post at the end of the day, titled "The Amazing Phil Laak," in which he explained the stunt. Gary Wise also recounted it in detail for an ESPN column a couple of months later, which I recommend if you aren't familiar with the whole story.

Kung Fu Stillness

Of course, the most recent "stunt" of Laak's was a bit more serious -- not a stunt at all, really, but a bit of thrill seeking that very nearly took a tragic turn.

Six weeks ago (on August 5th), Laak was involved in a harrowing accident while riding an ATV (all-terrain vehicle). The spill left Laak with a number of injuries, including a shattered wrist, a broken rib, a dislocated elbow, and damage to his orbital bone and tissue around his right eye. And from Laak's account of the accident, it sounded as though the outcome could have been much, much worse.

Laak described his crash and the aftermath in detail on a recent episode of "This Week in Poker," toward the end of which he talked at length about the amount of pain he endured, not just in the crash but afterwards as well. As Laak put it -- in his inimitable way -- "I never had to dig so deep with kung fu stillness ever in my life" in order to make it through the ordeal.

At the end of the interview, Laak turned uncharacteristically serious. "No matter what's going on in your life, just be happy," he said. "The ability to walk around, use your arms, and think and see the world is the greatest, most luxurious thing that you could ever imagine.... Just trust me -- you don't have to fly off a cliff to appreciate life. Walk around and enjoy the fact that you can see the world."

Laak has been quoted saying that one consequence of that marathon session of poker he played in June was a renewed focus at the tables, resulting in greater success. One can't help but wonder if that ability to concentrate was perhaps furthered even more by the accident -- into a kind of "kung fu stillness" -- thus enabling Laak perhaps to think even more clearly at the poker table.

Over in Cannes at the Partouche Poker Tour €7,750 buy-in Main Event two weeks ago, Laak managed to finish 15th out of a field of 764. Then came his win yesterday in which he netted a cool £170,802 payday and finally landed that much sought-after first WSOP bracelet.

Who knows if the accident helped Laak in some indirect way? In any case, he's right to say you don't have to fly off of a cliff to appreciate life.

Of course, as poker's reigning stunt man, Laak would be the one to know.

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