Final Table Bios: Seat 1, Dennis Phillips (26,295,000)
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Phillips’ St. Louis roots are strong— not only does he still plan on wearing his lucky Cardinals hat (adorned in signatures from dozens of poker pros) at the final table, he’s reserved a rumored 59 rooms at the Rio for his friends and family that are flying out to Las Vegas to watch him play. Since making the November Nine, he’s done a slew of local press in his hometown, the highlight of which came when he was invited to throw out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game. Phillips has also appeared at and played in a number of charity tournaments during his 117-day break from the Main Event. He’ll also be donating 1% of his total Main Event winnings to Put a Bad Beat on Cancer, the charity initiative spearheaded by poker pros Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst.
Prior to winning his Main Event seat, Phillips’ poker experience was confined to small buy-in tournaments and cash games at his local casino, and in preparation for the final table, Phillips enlisted the coaching services of WPT champion Roy “The Oracle” Winston. Since final tabling the Main Event he’s been signed as one of PokerStars’ “Million Dollar Men” and has played the WPT Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi, as well as the PokerStars.com EPT High Rollers Event in London, England, where he just missed the final table, finishing in 10th place.
Phillips enters play today as the tournament’s chip leader, with 26,295,000.