Online poker nicknames are often creative. But when it comes to the World Series of Poker, they can be downright confusing. On Wednesday night, PhilLaak won a WSOP bracelet in Event #15, a $1,000 PLO 8-Max online poker tournament.
But if you had called poker pro Phil Laak, partner to Jennifer Tilly, to congratulate him on the victory, he’d probably hang up on you. That’s because the winner of the tournament was actually Guy Dunlap, whose online poker nickname happens to be PhilLaak.
The Portland, Oregon player was among a 663 deep field to compete for a $629,859 prize pool. The tournament lasted about 12 hours.
Dunlap has an impressive career, with $106,317 in live tournament earnings under his belt. His career best leading up to the WSOP bracelet victory was a 3rd place finish in the 2011 Pendelton Fall Poker Round-up $500 Event, in which he secured $26,104.
Dunlap has also earned six figures playing online, making the WSOP online bracelet exceptionally sweet.
The “PhilLaak” victory comes on the heels of Ryan Depaulo’s big win. Earlier this week, Depaulo, an Americas Cardroom pro, won $159,563 playing in the Big 500 No Limit Hold’em tournament, conquering it from a mall parking lot in New Jersey. The New York resident traveled across state lines to play in the tournament — you must be physically present in Nevada or New Jersey to play in the WSOP.
While the World Series of Poker is traditionally an international event, the physical presence requirement has meant that this year’s field has been predominantly American. Of the 99 players who cashed in the PLO 8-Max tournament, all but three hailed from the United States.
Prize pools have been significantly lower than in previous incarnations of the World Series of Poker, but offshore poker sites that cater to players from outside New Jersey and Nevada have been picking up the slack.
