You learn some tricks after competing in a few television-watching marathons. One -- take interest in meaningless sporting events to keep yourself awake. Two -- eat and drink lightly between the scheduled bathroom breaks.

Jeff Miller, an independent businessman from Rogers Park, clinched his third consecutive Ultimate Couch Potato title Monday morning at Chicago's ESPN Zone.

"It's all about determination," said Miller, who displayed incredible inertia in listlessly viewing massive television screens for 72 straight, sleepless hours.

Miller, 26, bested three other competitors (all men) and pushed himself beyond the Guinness World Record for nonstop boob-tubing. (ESPN's TV-marathon rules mirror Guinness' -- no sleeping, no leaving the chair except for thrice-daily bathroom breaks and hourly, five-minute stretches.)

The venue controlled the remote from the time the four contestants first reclined on New Year's Day, and by Monday morning, Miller sat alone. His superior sluggishness earned him a new recliner, a $1,000 gift card toward the purchase of a television, money for one year of his cable/satellite bills, $1,000 in ESPN Zone credit and the Ultimate Couch Potato trophy, adorned with an actual spud just like the trophies he won in 2008 and 2009.

"He's driven in everything he does," gushed girlfriend Barbra Carqueville, explaining how her boyfriend's real-estate business affords him time to sit these days.

Added ESPN Zone's Brian Hanover, "Most people have no idea what it takes to win. They don't understand the endurance it takes to stay awake and control bodily issues. Jeff is uniquely qualified. He's an expert."