Origin of Being Felted �C A Conversation with Phil Laak
Phil Laak, who rose to prominence as the ��Unabomber�� on the World Poker Tour, is a bit of an enigma. If you��ve ever chatted with him, you��ve likely wondered if he��s a raving madman or a misunderstood genius. It��s probably a little of both.
Laak, the longtime boyfriend of actress Jennifer Tilly, has nearly $3.7 million in lifetime earnings. That is even more impressive when you consider his best score to date is just $265,290 for winning the 2005 William Hill Poker Grand Prix Final. In 2010, he became a World Series of Poker bracelet winner when he took down the WSOP Europe ��2,500 NLH Six-Handed for $263,494.
Other highlights in the career of the Unabomber include winning a WPT title, playing the 2008 WSOP Main Event disguised as an old man, being BFFs with Antonio Esfandiari, and playing a then-record 115 hours straight in a single 2010 poker cash game session. He is also credited with creating the poker term ��felted.��
As legend has it, Laak, who learned to play poker in 1999, coined the term while playing cash games in California during the early 2000s.
Laak: "I like to play games. Games are so much fun, I can��t take it.��
��The term had already found its footing less than six months after I said it, at least locally,�� Laak told PokerNews. ��I already knew it was gonna wiggle its way into being an actual, practical, and universal poker term. I could feel it. I knew early on that the term had ��stickability.����
He continued: ��I remember consciously using it in conversation when a guy got busted. For it to be sticky, other people had to use it. Back then if I played four days a week it must��ve meant there was a wedding and a funeral I needed to go to. I just played all the time. From 2000-05, I couldn��t help myself.��
True to form, Laak used his ability to turn a seemingly innocuous term into an existential thought.
��If you want to live forever, you create a thing. It might last a long time, like Buddhism. Buddha is dead but his philosophy lives on. Not that felted is compared with Buddhism, it��s just a term and not an interesting thing, but if the term felted exists in 500 years and being used properly for when a guy goes broke in a poker game, a little part of me would be like, ��Wow, I did something. Ok, good.�� Because it��s hard to leave anything. I feel pretty good that it could outlast me easily.��
Upcoming Poker Plans
Laak hasn��t exactly been tearing it up in 2018. In fact, his $24,019 in tournament earnings thus far is his lowest since 2002��s $17,380, which was his first year playing tournaments. Most recently, Laak finished 69th in the WPT500 L.A. for $2,835.
��I try doing other stuff but I keep coming back to gambling,�� he explained. ��Other stuff is more profitable in less time, personally for me, but I��m always waiting for the crossing the T��s and dotting the I��s, I just decide to go degen, you know? I like to play games. Games are so much fun, I can��t take it.��
Laak was in Vegas this summer where he strung together five mediocre cashes.
��I went to the WSOP thinking I was going to do a balanced blend,�� he said. ��Surf a lot, go out to dinner with friends, play a little poker. I��m gonna have this balanced life strategy. What sometimes happens with people with children��s minds is they lose the moderation button. It felt so good playing a lot of poker. I think I broke even or lost small. It was a blast.��
Laak: "I used to travel a ton, but I don��t travel very much anymore.��
As for the future, Laak literally walked over to a calendar to glance over upcoming stops.
��There��s the Poker Masters, but I don��t think I��m doing it. I don��t really enjoy playing those things. The olden days high rollers I felt like everyone had a chance. Nowadays high rollers are rarified air from the super elite, brilliant, money-grinding genius types. There��s not a whole lot of fun players. I like to play with fun players. There��s not a lot of fun players signed up for $100Ks and $25Ks.��
Another poker date on the calendar for Laak is October 3, which is the movie premiere for Vince van Patten��s movie Walk to Vegas. Laak and Tilly will both be there. Speaking of Tilly, Laak realized that she��s actually been the busier poker player as of late.
��I��m looking at the schedule and Jennifer is doing more stuff than me,�� he said. ��Looks like she is playing Poker After Dark in September. I have to get back on that, I haven��t been doing much poker TV. It looks like I��m going to be kind of invisible. I used to travel a ton, but I don��t travel very much anymore.��
Laak may not know what his upcoming poker plans are, but he has committed to a trip to Austin, Texas.
��Some friends of mine are going surfing in Austin, landlocked wake surfing off the back of boats and stuff,�� Laak concluded. ��I��ll be doing that for sure.��
