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Looking Over a Lucky Laak

Among professional poker players, there are those who positively stand out from the competition. Phil "The Unabomber" Laak is arguably one of them. Skill, attitude and personality; this guy has them in droves. Small wonder why "The Unabomber" has attracted a huge fan base.

Born in Dublin, Ireland on September 8, 1972 - Phil Laak was destined to have an illustrious career as a poker player. Laak grew up in Wellesly, Massachusetts and is now a resident of San Francisco, California. He would eventually get his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Before plying his trade as a professional poker player, he first worked as an engineer. But that wasn't his only work experience. Laak's resume also includes brief stints as a repo man, stock trader and a real estate investor.

Laak would eventually find poker as a potential money earner, and boy did he earn a lot. Poker was his cash cow and he took advantage of it. Phil found success in poker and he was soon reaping its rewards. Phil Laak has already bagged more than $1,200,000 in tournament wins in 2007, and the year hasn't even ended.

Among his crowning achievements as a professional poker player includes a top finish in the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational in February 2004, appearance in two other final tables in WPT, a second place finish at the 2005 World Series of Poker, a weekly prize earning of $120,000 on NBC's Poker After Dark and numerous wins in other top poker tournaments.

Laak is also a popular writer in the poker magazine Bluff. Phil's huge number of accolades is certainly well deserved.

"The Unabomber" isn't only popular because of his skills in poker. It's how he plays poker. Just by looking at Laak, people can immediately tell he's not the typical professional poker player. If anything else, Laak doesn't seem to fit in with most of the other well known poker players. That's because of his off beat humor, antics that positively exudes charisma and the most noticeable of them all - his clothing.

Phil Laak earned the nickname "The Unabomber" because of the hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he wears in tournaments, which made him resemble Theodore Kaczynski - the Unambomber.

Phil has appeared in several TV shows, another testament to his growing popularity and mass media appeal. Who knows when "The Unabomber" train will stop rolling, but we can all be sure that Phil Laak will remain as one of the most popular professional poker players this side of the galaxy for years to come.