Since 1954, the Guinness Book of World Records has recorded feats displaying the fastest, slowest, biggest, smallest, and the strongest in the world.  Millions of people over those years have strived to have their names featured in records that denote either great efforts of strength and ability, or silly attempts at crazy stunts that no sane person would ever try, just so that they could see their name in print.  In the world of casino gaming, both live and online, many players have earned fame – or infamy – for their skills at the gaming tables.

With the explosion in the popularity of online poker, many players have attempted to set records for endurance, hands played, and multi-table play.  Tournament poker pro Bertrand “ElKy” Grospelier earned recognition from Guinness officials when he played at sixty-two online no-limit Texas Hold’em poker tables simultaneously for more than an hour, an estimated quarter-million hands – more than many players at live tables see in years.

Last November, another famous poker pro broke the record for the largest cash game pot won online.  Patrik Antonius was playing online veteran “isildur1” in a game of heads-up pot-limit Omaha at the highest level available on the site: $500/$1000 blinds.  In one hand, he earned over US$880,000 when he hit a gutshot straight on the river.  A few days later, he passed his own record against “isildur1” by taking down a US$1.3 million pot, the biggest in online poker history.

Not all of the biggest gambling records are limited to casino tables and computer screens.  In the spring of 2008, an online backgammon site sponsored the “biggest” tournament in the history of the game.  The event was not the biggest due to the number of participants or the prize money on the line; it had the “biggest” equipment.  The game was played on a specially marked field with checkers measuring a meter across and inflatable dice tossed from a helicopter!