Phil Laak and Jennifer Tilly are probably the most famous poker couple in the history of the game. Their exciting and intertwined love story spans for almost 15 years. So, where did the two meet and how did it all happen?
Jennifer Tilly's poker career
Jennifer Tilly always stated that she was a poker enthusiast, ever since she was very young. However, she started professionally playing only after meeting Phil Laak, but more about this later. If we look at Tilly’s poker career as a whole, we can certainly say she had a successful run from 2005 up to today. Her live tournament winnings exceed $1 million. But, besides money winnings, Tilly is recognised as a very influential poker player. Due to her success in the game, she was nominated for PokerListing’s Spirit of Poker Living Legend Award of 2014.
Jennifer's acting career before poker
Although she’s nowadays more known as a ‘celebrity poker player’, Jennifer Tilly actually had a quite notable acting career. She started acting in 1983, at the age of 25. Success came quickly to her doorstep, as she landed roles in movies such as Made in America, Bound and Liar Liar. Tilly garnered several prestigious award nominations during her career, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Woody Allen’s Bullets over Broadway.
Phil Laak's poker career
Phil Laak, an Irish-born poker player, is regarded as one of the most popular poker players by top UK sportsbooks covering poker and online gambling. There are very few players in the poker world that have managed to achieve his status level.
Nicknamed the Unibomber, because of his hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses style resembling the notorious Unabomber, Phil Laak is a very unusual and interesting player to watch. An eccentric and exciting player, Phil Laak is one of the most recognisable people in the world of poker.
As far as tournament wins go, his biggest win was the PartyPoker.com World Open V, where he won $250,000, beating fellow poker player Luke Schwartz and his long-term romantic partner Jennifer Tilly in the final table. Phil Laak’s total career winnings exceed $3,600,000. Laak holds a World Series of Poker bracelet and one World Poker Tour Title, with 4 final tables. Among other things, Phil Laak holds the world record for the longest live poker session with a profit, as he played for 115 consecutive hours, beating the previous record by more than 40 hours.
The 2004 World Poker Tour Invitational and their first encounter
The World Poker Tour Invitational is an internationally recognised and very popular entertainment brand. The 2004 edition of the tour was held in Los Angeles, with global television coverage. This was the period Phil Laak was undoubtedly at the top of his game. He was winning left, right and centre, and went to win the tournament mentioned above convincingly. In the same breath, Jennifer Tilly was just getting into professional poker, and still learning the ropes. Her acting career was taking a back seat, as she aimed to pursue professional poker as her new passion.
Jennifer and Phil met during the 2004 World Poker Tour Invitational, and it was the actress who made the first move. As she described their first meeting in multiple interviews, it was actually her who made a move towards Phil, asking him to help her improve her game. They started seeing each other a short while after the Tour, and they have been together since.