Wiltshire News
World record bid is big deal in Pewsey
3:20pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
Four poker playing friends at the Coopers Arms in Pewsey hope to set a new world record for playing non-stop.
They started at 7pm yesterday and have to keep playing until Sunday afternoon at least.
They intend to beat the current record of 115 hours set by American poker player Phil Laak in June last year in Las Vegas.
Laak, 37, shattered the previous record held by British professional Paul Zimbler by almost two days and finally put his cards down after 115 hours, raising more than $6,000 for charity.
Craig Mariner, 31, who has run the popular Ball Road pub for four years is a semi-professional poker player and runs a poker club in the Coopers on Tuesday evenings.
Mr Mariner said: “I like to play in a lot of the big tournaments and when the world record, which was held by an English guy, was broken by Phil Laak in America I thought it would be nice to get it back for Britain.”
Unlike the previous holders who set their records alone taking on all comers for the duration, Mr Mariner has roped in three of his poker playing friends, Deano Donkin, Scotty Still and Jordan Langley, to attempt the world record with him.
All four plan to play non-stop until sometime after 2pm on Sunday and they hope people will drop in to support them and put money in collecting tins for Help for Heroes.
Mr Mariner said: “We know a soldier who lost his legs in Afghanistan and that is why we will be raising money towards Help for Heroes .”
To help them keep awake the four players – who are allowed a five minute break every hour under Guinness Book of Records rules – they want people to go along to support them and, if they like, join in a hand of poker.
On Friday night the popular local band Black Dog will be playing at the pub which, said the landlord, “will help us keep awake”.
Follow the players' progress on www.gazetteandherald.co.uk