The win was not only great because it was Phil’s first in a WSOP event, but also because it occurred on his girlfriend, Jennifer Tilly’s birthday. Tilly is also a poker professional, a pretty good one as well.

Phil was born in Europe (Dublin, Ireland) but was raised in America. At 38 years old, Laak has been able to carve out a fine career for himself. Over his fairly short time as a professional, he has already won more then $2 million in tournament earnings. He has also won several titles, one at a World Poker Tour (WPT) event. Laak has also played his way into several WPT event finals. The same is true for the WSOP. Although this recent win was Phil’s first World Series of Poker title, he has made it to a number of WSOP finals. Finally able to conquer what had previously been impossible, Laak now is able to count himself amongst the poker elite.

The finals table at the £2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship included both names that are well known and those that are not so much. Amongst them were Andrew Pantling (£105,506) who came in second place, Chris Bjorin (£70,473) who finished in third, David Peters (£48,202), the fourth place winner, Ilan Rouah (£33,617), who came in fifth place and Willie Tann (£23,900), who finished in sixth place.

When Hellmuth won the WSOP event in 1989 he was 24 years old and the youngest to win the event. During the event he knocked out defending champion Johnny Chan heads up. That record was later beaten by Peter Eastgate in 2008. Eastgate won the event at the age of 22. And most recently it was broken at the 2009 WSOP by Joe Cada at age 21. In 2006, Hellmuth won the WSOP and his 10th bracelet. The 10th bracelet tied him with some of the biggest names in poker; such as Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. Later, in 2007, Hellmuth won his 11th bracelet. He holds the record for the most times in the cash and most final table appearances.

Hellmuth has been the key man in several poker videos. He has also written numerous articles in different magazines. Hellmuth is currently a poker coach on Fox Sport’s Best Damn Poker Show, and has sponsorship with Ultimatebet.net. Phil has had several run-in’s with other poker players, due to his knack of being a bad loser. Many times, Hellmuth will make negative comments about his opponents skills, most notably after a beat. Several years ago Hellmuth and veteran Sam Grizzle almost came to blows after an argument over a play. Some of Hellmuth’s best quotes include:

• “I can dodge bullets, baby!”
• “You can’t even spell poker.”
• “If luck weren’t involved, I guess I’d win every tournament.”
• “I’ve revolutionized the way to play Texas hold’em.”

Every WSOP bracelet Phil wins, he has given away, with one exception. The first one he won, he has kept, while the rest have went to various people. People such as his mother, father, wife, three sisters, brother, two sons and close friends. Hellmuth has spent a lot of time volunteering at charity events, in fact some of his most noted events have been tournaments for fallen police officers and firemen. Hellmuth donates a portion of his winnings to the Heifer International, which is an organization that helps some of the poorest countries in the world.

All in all Phil Hellmuth has to be in the discussions when talking about the greatest poker player alive. Though some might not want to acknowledge it because of his style, the man just knows how to win poker tournaments.