Dennis Phillips WSOP Chip Leader

by Jake Gosselin | Aug 12 2008

After 11 exhausting days of poker, it finally came down to 10 players and the WSOP Main Event Final Table bubble. More significant than the money bubble, this year, the final 10 would be competing for a position at what would be the most hyped final table in the history of the WSOP.

So when Dean Hamrick pushed all-in with A-J offsuit, his heart must've sunk when Craig Marquis came over the top with all his chips. Marquis flipped showed pocket queens.

The flop teased Hamrick with outs as it ran Kc-10h-3d. But the 10d on the turn and the Ks on the river sealed his fate, and the WSOP Final Table was created.

Why was the final table such a big deal? Assuming you haven't been living under a rock, you know that it will be the first WSOP Final Table that will be broadcast live. Airing on Nov. 9-10, the so-called "November Nine" are to be an experiment in poker hype and WSOP marketing. The "November Nine" will have more media exposure than any other group of final tablists we've ever seen, and that translates directly into what one can only assume to be the most lucrative sponsorship deals ever. So yes, Hamrick has probably lost a few more nights of sleep than if it had just been a standard final table.

Another person who might also be kept up at night thinking about the final table for an altogether different reason is Dennis Phillips, the chip leader coming into the 2008 WSOP Final Table.

Dennis Phillips

Phillips is not only the man with the most chips heading into the final table, but he's also the man with the most experience... Well, life experience at least. At 53 years old, Phillips brings a level head to the game that has helped get him to the position he is currently enjoying. Although his poker experience is somewhat limited compared to the type of player you’d expect to be leading the WSOP Final Table, he has already proved that he’s got what it takes to win the whole thing: patience, a solid understanding of the game and a hell of a lot of chips.

As far as poker experience goes, prior to the 2008 WSOP, Phillips had been cashing regularly in tournaments in St. Louis, Mo. He also won his WSOP Main Event seat through a satellite there in which he beat out Dan Nassif in heads-up play. That's Nassif from the 2006 WSOP Final Table, not to be confused with Henry Nasiff, the Angry Drunken Dwarf.

Phillips is an account manager for a trucking company operating out of St. Louis, a job he seems to appreciate quite a bit. And although all players entering the final table have already received the minimum that can be won, $900,670, with a ninth-place finish, Phillips has stated that he won't be quitting his day job. In fact, not only did he balk at retirement, but he immediately returned home to work after the final table was set.

Clearly on very good terms with his employer, Phillips also provided the company, Broadway Truck Centers, with some free and very valuable advertising by wearing its T-shirts while refusing the hats and shirts of other potential sponsors saying, "Those are my friends. I'm not going to do that to them."

Phillips has reportedly rejected all offers of training from poker pros but is considering a "generous" offer from Phil Gordon. Gordon was apparently extremely pleased with Phillips’ pledge to donate to Gordon's "Put a Bad Beat on Cancer" charity. It is rumored that Phillips has pledged a full 10 percent of his winnings to Gordon’s charity. This would amount to over $900,000 with a first-place finish.

With 26,295,000 in chips, Phillips has a lead over second place Ivan Demidov by nearly $2 million. Undoubtedly, this is the main reason for the Bodog Sportsbook giving him the best odds to win the WSOP at 3/1.

But the world won't be sitting around twiddling its thumbs waiting to watch the WSOP Final Table play out live in November. There are four other bracelets still to be awarded before that through the WSOP Europe. The WSOP Europe is running from Sept. 19-Oct. 2 with the Main Event starting on Sept. 27.

It's a £10,000 buy-in event and with the greenback valued at around half of the pound, it's a particularly high stakes tournament for Americans who are still hungry for a bracelet. Bodog is currently running qualifiers for as little as $1 and a WSOP Europe Semifinal that guarantees at least two WSOPE seats happening Sept. 7 at 3:15 p.m. EST with a $540 buy-in. Get the complete details on the WSOP Europe online satellites.

Why live vicariously through the WSOP?

Play in an online poker tournament today!