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Dennis Phillips In-Depth: 2008 WSOP Main Event Leader

July 16, 2008

When the 2008 WSOP Main Event was whittled from 6,844 participants to the final ‘November Nine’, the anticipation to unveil a champion emanated from the rafters of the Rio Casino’s Amazon Room. So, whilst we wait out the agonizing 117-day break until the final table actually occurs, let’s take an in-depth look at the current 2008 WSOP Main Event chip leader, Dennis Phillips.

 

Passing the time with confidence, current leader Dennis Phillips holds the largest stack with 26,295,000 chips in his corner, nearly 2 million higher than his closest rival, Ivan Demidov at 24,400,000. But how did Phillips, an amateur poker player from Cottage Hills, Illinois, earn such a prestigious position in the most influential live tournament of our time?

 

Apparently the televised broadcast has done even more for the poker gaming community than we had previously realized, having brought the sport back into the limelight in such a fashion that even poker enthusiasts who’ve never cashed in a live tournament have attained astounding skills for the game; enough to rival those of the professional poker players we’ve come to expect such spectacular performances from.

 

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Dennis Phillips is a 53-year-old account manager for the Broadway Truck Centers trucking company. Phillips only took up the game of poker four years ago, as a mere hobby more than anything else. He has been spending a good deal of time earning frequent cashes at the local Harrah’s Casino in St. Louis, and one particular win has brought him further than he could have ever imagined.

 

Handing over the $200 buy-in to a Satellite tournament at Harrah’s, Dennis Phillips battled some of the toughest poker players in the region, finally taking down the 2006 WSOP Main Event final tablist Dan Nassif in heads-up action to win a seat in this year’s WSOP Main Event.

 

As far as previous WSOP tournaments are concerned, Dennis Phillips had only cashed in two events, both being WSOP Circuits held in the nearby city of Robinsonville. On September 7, 2007, Phillips bought into a WSOP Circuit NL Hold’em tournament at the Grand Casino Tunica for $550, finishing in 9th place for $2,386. Only two days later, Dennis reinvested his winnings for another $550 buy-in, this time taking 7th place for $2,192.

 

Now finding himself holding the largest chip stack at the one and only World Series of Poker Main Event, Dennis Phillips couldn’t be more pleased with his performance. Phillips stated that he couldn’t have been more calm as he offered a perfect poker face, staring into the eyes of his strong-willed competitors while the final three tables took place.

 

According to Phillips, as he went ever deeper into the WSOP Main Event, he resisted numerous offers from online poker companies, making every effort to get him to don their logos. Full Tilt Poker offered a large sum to Phillips simply to wear a Full Tilt Poker cap backwards, but Phillips declined, preferring the bright red cap depicting his favorite St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Another offer came for him to wear a logo T-shirt, but again, Phillips rejected, choosing to keep his own shirt displaying his employment company logo, Broadway Truck Centers. “Those are my friends. I’m not going to do that to them.” Eventually, PokerStars was able to convince Dennis to wear a logo patch on his company shirt, as well as another on the side of his red baseball cap.

 

One lingering question that had to be on the minds of Phillips co-workers and employers had to be, “Is Dennis Phillips going to retire?”

 

Phillips cleared that question up immediately as the media swarmed in his direction upon discovery of the November Nine. He stated that he will not retire, and will be back to work Thursday. Of course, Phillips may not quite realize the fate in store for him, as the immaculately skilled poker player will be returning a home town hero and local celebrity; his face already plastered across the St. Louis Today newspaper.

 

Dennis Phillips is a modest man; not one easily lured by the camera lights. He didn’t even bother to tell his friends that he had won a seat in the 2008 WSOP Main Event until weeks later, and even then required a few drinks to spill the beans.

 

As much as the world wishes to see a winner crowned, it will unfortunately be another 116 days – Final Table Day 1 and 2, after a 117 day break from the end of the final table setting – before a true winner shall emerge, claiming the coveted WSOP Bracelet and Championship title, along with about $9.2 million.

 

When asked why the WSOP determined it necessary to invoke such a long delay before the WSOP Main Event Final Table, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack replied, “Now fans will ask ‘who will win’ our coveted championship bracelet and millions of dollars instead of ‘Who won? The excitement and interest that will surround our final nine players will be unprecedented.”

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    Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under 2008 WSOP Results, Poker News, Poker Tournament Results, WSOP News 

    2008 WSOP Main Event Update: Final Nine Revealed

    July 15, 2008

    The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table has been decided as Day 7 came to a close yesterday, July 14th. And so now we must wait for the final nine to reconvene after a long break – a 117 day break as a matter of fact – not set to converge on the final table until November 9, 2008.

    It was a long and grueling battle between the final 27 participants, with Dean Hamrick being the last to go in 10th position. Hamrick pushed all-in with 3,420,000, followed by an over the top all-in from Texan Craig Marquis.  One after another, the table folded all round.

    The cards were revealed: Marquis Qh-Qc, Hamrick As-Jc.

    Then came the Flop: Kc-10h-3d

    Marquis held the lead with his pocket Queens, though Hamrick was now betting on a Straight Draw.

    The Turn: 10d

    Hamrick would need an Ace to win – nothing else would do. The crowd noise picked up, calling for this card or that, then it came…

    The River: Ks

    Hamrick was the final player sent to the rails, earning $591,865. Though he pocketed in excess of half a million dollars, the disappointment must have been shattering; to be so close to the “November Nine” - as it’s being so popularly termed – yet to fall so unbearably short.

    Another unfortunate ousting from the final three tables was that of Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle, the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Women (and men) around the world were rooting for this budding beauty, donning a fatigue cap that did little to hide her obvious daunted spirit as the final cards came down, sending her out in 17th place.

    Tiffany Michelle went further into the WSOP Main Event than any other woman since 2000. Had she gone on to the final table in November, Michelle would have become only the second woman in WSOP history to do so. As it was, Michelle’s A-J could not hold up against Peter Eastgate’s Pocket Aces. The Flop brought yet another Ace, but no Jack came to her rescue. Tiffany Michelle was award $334,534 for her 17th place finish.

    2008 WSOP Main Event “November Nine”
    As it stands, the final nine competitors will take to the final table on November 9, 2008. You’ll find the names and respective chip counts below.

    Dennis Phillips - 26,295,000
    Ivan Demidov - 24,400,000
    Scott Montgomery - 19,690,000
    Peter Eastgate - 18,375,000
    Ylon Schwartz - 12,525,000
    Darus Suharto - 12,520,000
    David ‘Chino’ Rheem - 10,230,000
    Craig Marquis - 10,210,000
    Kelly Kim - 2,620,000

    Only 116 days to go now………

      Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under 2008 WSOP Results, Poker News, Poker Tournament Results, WSOP News 

      Final Day Of 2008 WSOP Main Event; 27 Players Remain

      July 14, 2008

      After 11 days of virtually non-stop, heart-pounding action, the 2008 WSOP Main Event will be coming to a close very soon. Today, July 14th, is the final seating of the world’s most prestigious live poker tournament, and only 27 players remain.

      Of those 27 players, there is one notable poker pro that we simply can’t neglect to mention – Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle – the “Last Woman Standing” in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Last year, it was Bodog Pro Maria Ho who took that honor, finding herself under the microphone of reporter Tiffany Michelle. This year, the roles have been reversed as Maria Ho is holding the mic, and Tiffany Michelle is the last female holding the cards. Starting today’s action, Tiffany held the third highest chip stack of 9,755,000.

       

      The last three tables of the 2008 WSOP Main Event began in this order:

      Table 1

      Joe Bishop - 4,855,000 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

      Peter Eastgate - 9,325,000 (Odense, Denmark)

      Gert Andersen - 6,740,000 (Herning, Denmark)

      Kelly Kim - 8,840,000 (Whittier, California)

      Brandon Cantu - 4,740,000 (Las Vegas, Nevada)

      Dean Hamrick - 2,375,000 (East Lansing, Michigan)

      Ivan Demidov - 4,965,000 (Moscow, Russia)

      Niklas Flisberg - 1,330,000 (Stockholm, Sweden)

      Michael Carroll - 1,015,000 (Carson, California)

      Table 2

      Scott Montgomery - 4,320,000 (Perth, Ontario, Canada)

      Tim Loecke - 2,280,000 (Highland Park, Illinois)

      Anthony Scherer - 2,385,000 (Truckee, California)

      Owen Crowe - 3,800,000 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)

      Craig Marquis - 11,460,000 (Arlington, Texas)

      Ylon Schwartz - 3,655,000 (Brooklyn, New York)

      Paul Snead - 6,600,000 (Kings Park, New York)

      Tiffany ‘Hot Chips’ Michelle - 9,755,000 (Los Angeles, California)

      Phi Nguyen - 1,020,000 (Hawaiian Gardens, California)

      Table 3

      Jason Riesenberg - 3,405,000 (Halbur, Iowa)

      Darus Suharto - 4,510,000 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

      Chris Klodnicki - 6,245,000 (Voorhees, New Jersey)

      Toni Judet - 5,000,000 (Bucharest, Romania)

      Nicholas Sliwinski - 4,925,000 (Las Vegas, Nevada)

      David ‘Chino’ Rheem - 8,280,000 (Los Angeles, California)

      Dennis Phillips - 11,910,000 (St. Louis, Missouri)

      Albert Kim - 3,675,000 (Staten Island, New York)

      Aaron Gordon - 1,790,000 (Brighton, England)

        Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under 2008 WSOP Results, High Stakes Poker, Poker News, Poker Tournament Results, WSOP News 

        2008 WSOP Results Event #4: Erick Lindgren Finally Wins A Bracelet

        June 5, 2008

        Erick Lindgren has a long and lucrative 10-year history as a professional poker player, earning $1.5 million in WSOP and WSOP circuit events alone, but his final 2008 WSOP goal can now be checked off Lindgren’s to-do list – Win a gold WSOP Bracelet. Erick emerged triumphant yesterday from the 2008 World Series of Poker Event #4, $5,000 Mixed Hold’em, taking the bracelet and a 1st place cash of $374,505.

        The 3-day event got underway June 2nd, with the final table commencing on the 4th. Lindgren started off with a bang, ousting Isaac Haxton in the second hand. Pat Pezzin was the next to go as his A-Q offsuit did not hold up against Andre Robl’s A-K offsuit. Next to the rails came David Williams as his As-3s was out-flopped by David Williams K-10 off-suit, ending with a 10 top pair.

        With competitors left, it would take some time before anyone else exited the World Series of Poker final table. Eventually, Justin Bonomo and Howard Lederer would take up arms. With a run of pre-flop raises, Lederer finally went all-in holding pocket 4s against Bonomo’s Ac-Qc. The flop was no help to either, but the turn river combined for 5d-2d-Ks-5s-Kc – just enough to counter Lederers low pair and give Bonomo the win.

        David Rheem was the next to fall, sent to the rail when Roland de Wolfe became the lone caller of a pre-flop raise. When Wolfe hit the nut Straight, Rheem mucked and made his 5th place exit. Soon after, Bonomo took Wolfe all in when he flopped a Flush draw that hit on the river. Robl, Bonomo and Lindgren rounded out the final three.

        After another hour of play, Bonomo held a significant chip stack lead, calling Robl’s all in after a pre-flop raise. Robl found himself dethroned as his A-2 failed to pair, losing to Bonomo’s Q-5 when the Queen paired on the flop.

        Heads-up play immediately commenced between Justin Bonomo and Erick Lindgren, who had remained fairly quiet up until now. Bonomo grabbed an early chip lead, but not by much. It would last 40 hands before a winner was crowned. Lindgren raised Bonomo before the flop of 10c-5c-3d. Both players checked, revealing a 4h on the Turn. Bonomo bet, called by Lindgren, then came the 8h River, resulting in another bet by Bonomo and a raise from Lindgren. Bonomo pushed all in and Lindgren called immediately. Bonomo confidently revealed a 5s-4s, twice pairing the board. His poise quickly faded, however, as Lindgren unveiled Ah-2d for the Straight.

        Poker champion Lindgren would walk away with his first glorious WSOP Bracelet and a 1st place prize of $374,505. Justin Bonomo, the newest member of Team Full Tilt Poker, pocketing $230,259 for his 2nd place finish.

        The final table results of 2008 WSOP Event #4 were as follows:

        1st – Erick Lindgren ($374,505)
        2nd – Justin Bonomo ($230,259)
        3rd – Andre Robl ($144,337)
        4th – Roland de Wolfe ($117,030)
        5th – David Rheem ($93,624)
        6th – Howard Lederer ($74,119)
        7th – David Williams ($58,515)
        8th – Pat Pezzin ($46,812)
        9th – Isaac Haxton ($34,109)

          Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under 2008 WSOP Results, Poker Tournament Results, WSOP News 

          2008 WSOP Results Event #3: David Singer Croons Victory

          June 5, 2008

          The third event of the 2008 World Series of Poker, a 3-day $1,500 PL Hold’em event, was taken down by professional poker player David Singer yesterday. Of his many lucrative accomplishments, the one achievement that has eluded Singer all these years was the reward of a coveted WSOP Bracelet. I’m sure the 1st place prize of $214,122 was appreciated, as well!

          As the WSOP event began its second day, Singer found himself very short-stacked – the second lowest in the tournament, in fact. By day three, things weren’t looking much better – aside from the fact he had not been ousted – entering into the final table of nine with, once again, the second lowest chip stack of 83,000, only slightly better than Glen Bean’s 75,000. Joe Tehan of New York took the high-stack honors with 458,000.

          After the first three eliminations – Glen Bean, Al Barbieri and Zachary King respectively – Singer had jumped from second lowest to second highest chip stack, behind Jacob Fernandez. Joe Tehan and Russ Harriman were the next to exit, followed by Robert Lipkin and Gregory Alston.

          Heads-up play commenced between David Singer, with the low stack of 935,000, and Jacob Fernandez at 1,245,000. After some a brief skirmish of poker, both stacks were near dead even, and the two agreed upon a dinner break. Upon returning to the table, Singer found his chips slowing dwindling. Just when it looked like Fernandez had him beat, however, Singer gained his second win and began a tenuous come-back march.

          The second to last hand saw Singer’s chip stack erupt into an enormous lead, holding 1.7 million to Fernandez 400k. One last hand would see an end to the PL Hold’em event. With a board of 3d-5s-7d-6c, Singer forced Fernandez to call all-in. Singer flipped a Q-4, revealing a Straight, while Fernandez’s 7-3 both paired the board, but could not compete. A Jh on the river sealed his fate as David Singer was awarded $214,131 and his first gold WSOP Bracelet. Fernandez earned $136,643 for a 2nd place finish.

          The final table results of 2008 WSOP Event #3 were as follows:

          1st – David Singer ($214,131)
          2nd – Jacob Fernandez ($136,643
          3rd – Gregory Alston ($82,725)
          4th – Robert Lipkin ($67,640)
          5th – Russ Harriman ($55,474)
          6th – Joe Tehan ($43,796)
          7th – Zachary King ($34,063)
          8th – Al Barbieri ($26,764)
          9th – Glen Bean ($19,464)

            Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under 2008 WSOP Results, Poker News, Poker Tournament Results, WSOP News 

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