Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak has a string of recorded tournament results stretching back over 20 years, but has just topped them all thanks to a win at the Parkwest Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker Mega Millions XXVII tournament.
The $380,245 first prize represents not only Laak’s biggest tournament score to date, but also comes with his first recorded tourney victory since 2010.
After building a big stack and leading the field for much of the business end of the tourney, Laak reportedly refused multiple offers to chop the prize pool and played it out, defeating LA’s Behzad ‘Sam’ Teranie late Wednesday night.
Laak traps on three streets to seal the deal
The man who allegedly coined the term ‘felted’ showed Teranie the true meaning of the word with a slow-played top two-pair to see out the win in Los Angeles.
The final hand saw Laak check-call three streets of action, giving his opponent all the room he needed to commit his last chips. For his part, Teranie played his draws aggressively but couldn’t get there, bluffing what remained of his stack on the river only to be snap-called by Laak.
Laak: 
Teranie: 
Board: 
For his runner-up finish, Teranie takes $250,450 for a new career high score of his own.
Fans help celebrate the win
A well-known high-stakes cash game player, Laak earned his ‘Unabomber’ nickname early in his career thanks to his habit of wearing a hoodie and sunglasses at the table (let’s just say it was a style that caught on). His profile over the years has grown partly thanks to his many appearances on televised poker series, including High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, Poker Night in America and, recently, PokerStars’ The Big Game on Tour.
His tourney win on Wednesday brought fans out to celebrate on social media, not least his longterm partner - and fellow poker celeb - Jennifer Tilly. The actress and poker player shared Laak’s progress with followers as he advanced to the tourney’s sharp end, and ultimately the win.
Images courtesy of Parkwest Bicycle Casino/PokerGO, with thanks to The Hendon Mob for previous tournament results.
