LAAK SETS ENDURANCE WORLD RECORD
 
Nary a World Series of Poker passes without a publicity stunt by Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, perhaps having been taught the ins and outs of publicity hounding by his longtime girlfriend, actress/player Jennifer Tilly. Laak, who has engaged in “Man vs. Machine” competitions in years past, became the machine this time by challenging and surpassing the official Guinness Book of World Records mark of nearly 79 hours straight playing poker. Laak reached 115 consecutive hours of play with only a five-minute break each hour, easily topping Paul Zimber’s official mark. Certification of Laak’s feat is pending.
 
NO DOZEN FOR HELLMUTH, NGUYEN WINS SEVENTH
 
All-time WSOP win leader Phil Hellmuth made the final day’s action in a $1,500 no-limit hold’em tourney before faltering and finishing 16th, leaving him still in search of his 12th WSOP bracelet. But Men Nguyen joined an elite few who have collected seven bracelets, by taking down Event No. 10, the 7-card stud world championship. Nguyen moved into a tie for sixth with Phil Ivey and lowball specialist Billy Baxter on the all-time list, and added $394,800 to his career earnings.
 
CONFESSED MURDERER VAN DER SLOOT’S POKER CONNECTION
 
Confessed murderer Joran Van der Sloot, notorious for his connection to the unsolved Aruba disappearance of Natalie Holloway in 2005, was recently arrested in Chile and returned to Peru in connection with the murder of a young woman found dead in his hotel room. Van der Sloot, known to frequent casino and poker happenings, was in Peru participating in the cash games building up to the Latin American Poker Tour’s Lima, Peru stop (which was won by Jose “Nacho” Barbaro, making Barbaro the LAPT’s first double winner). Alas for “Nacho,” Van der Sloot’s alleged crimes dominated the news reports emanating from South America connected to poker, though Van der Sloot never did register for the LAPT stop’s main event before fleeing the country.
 
UIGEA COMPLIANCE BECOMES OFFICIAL, EARLY REPORTS MIXED
 
The official compliance date for banks regarding the United States’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) arrived on June 1st, with a handful of tales of deposit/withdrawal difficulty but few if any world-changing developments. No US-facing poker rooms pulled up stakes and exited the market, though some players reported that Visa- and Mastercard-based “gift cards” no longer worked as a deposit method. Sporadic bank account closures were reported by others connected to the deposits of large checks, though these tales were not in significant numbers and not out of line with similar happenings over the previous three years. The Poker Players Alliance did not even issue an official press release regarding the act’s live date arriving.
 
DURRRR’S NON-WIN A BIG WSOP STORY
 
While 20 bracelets were carted off during the first two weeks of the 2010 World Series of Poker, one of the largest storylines emanating from early action was a deep run in an early $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event by online megastar Tom “durrrr” Dwan. Dwan is reputed to have millions riding in side bets on whether he’ll win a bracelet this year, and he almost did so in Event No. 11, finishing second to Simon Watt. Dwan collected $381,885 to Watt’s $614,248, but for Dwan it was a case of what might have been—his side bets with Daniel Negreanu, David Benyamine, and other high-profile stars would have netted him $8,000,000 to $10,000,000, according to various reports, had he captured his first bracelet.
 
AND SPEAKING OF ‘POT’ ODDS…
 
Then there was the tale of Connecticut poker player Paul Buntin, whose fledging career includes roughly $50,000 in recorded tournament winnings. Poker might not have been how Buntin made his green. In this case Buntin was caught with lots of green when his SUV was pulled over near Albany, NY and officers discovered 238 pounds of marijuana, worth over a half million in street value. Buntin faces up to four years on the drug charges if convicted.