Most of us realize that an eight hour shift is usually spent with a few 15 minute breaks, perhaps a lunch hour or half hour, bathroom visits as needed, and even a moment's break to spell tension in the air. But when you look at a Randy Lew's eight hour shift, it blows everything into the cosmos! Team PokerStars Online member Randy "nanonoko" Lew played the most hands ever recorded during eight hours - while making a profit - as he set a new Guinness World Record on Sunday during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
Lew did not eat or use the bathroom in his eight hour world record attempt (we are wondering if he had time to blink). He played through a massive 23,493 hands and made a profit of $7.65. When he took his seat in the corner of the PCA tournament room at 1pm local time, he loaded between 25 and 40 tables on PokerStars to run simultaneously.
With 17 minutes left on the clock, Lew was up just $8.91. His ability to grind is legendary and he held on to earn a spot in poker history. Previously he had been down $1,200 and that's when he moved up to $5/$10 No Limit Holdem to at least have a shot at the record.
"I was like, 'ugh, I've got to chase those losses,'" Lew said to the PokerStars Blog. "I really was running horrible. But I was trying to stay focused like 'You can't let this get to you.' But I still played well and tried to play my best, and eventually it worked out. Twelve hundred was rough, though. It could've been game over, to be honest."
Lew started closing tables with just minutes left in the challenge to keep his winning balance in check. As crazy as poker is, he had one table left and looked down to aces. Some of his cheering fans begged him to pitch them, but in typical 'Lew' style, he won a three-way pot and added a few chips to his stack. It was just a few hands later that he set the record.
"This is a great feeling. I finished it," Lew said when it was over. "I had a crowd. Everyone clapped for me. I was reading chat while I was playing. I probably shouldn't have. But people were like 'Go, Randy, go!' So, it kept me pumped, and it is a good feeling when people want you to win."
Courtesy of PokerStars blog, the following is Lew's final tally:
| Hands played | 24,493 |
|---|---|
| Hours | 8 |
| Hands per hour | 2,936.63 |
| Hands per minute | 48.94 |
| Profit | $7.65 |
Another member of Team PokerStars set a Guinness World Record in 2009 and profited $23 when he played 62 SNGs (sit n go). Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier still holds that record.
PokerStars just shattered its own Guinness World Record when 200,000 players played in the $1 buy-in 10th Anniversary World Record Tournament.
Read all about Lew's record on the PokerStars Blog.
Image courtesy of PokerNews.com
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