Dennis Phillips

An account manager for a commercial trucking company by trade, Dennis Phillips hails from Missouri. He has played poker for years and along the way honed his skills to become a fine amateur player. But all of this changed when he sat down to play the 2008 World Series of Poker* Main Event. Dennis qualified after winning a $200 satellite at his local casino, contested the event with 6,844 other players, hit the chip lead on Day 5 and maintained that position through Days 6 and 7, as well as the 117-day break before the final table.

Prior to his life-changing run at the 2008 World Series, Phillips cashed in two side events at WSOP* Circuit stops at Grand Tunica in Mississippi. These money finishes prepared him for the tournament performance of his life, in the 2008 Main Event.

Phillips, in his red St Louis Cardinals baseball cap and white shirt became an abiding symbol of the 2008 WSOP* - an everyman that can make it to the big time. In fact his image was so strong, for the final table more than 300 of his supporters descended on the Penn and Teller theater at the Rio in Las Vegas, all dressed identically, with red St Louis baseball caps and white shirts. Phillips was also the senior statesman at the final table opponents, another fact which stood him out from the crowd.

Poker’s most famous Cardinals fan began the final table with the chip lead, and was able to finish in third place, securing a massive $4,517,773 payday. That result catapulted him into a respectable position on the all-time money winners list, with total earnings of more than $4,500,000. Following his World Series success, Phillips cashed for $19,100 in the $4,800 No Limit Hold'em event at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in The Bahamas. He then almost made back-to-back Main Event final table appearances, when he finished 45th in 2009, good for a cash of $178,857.

Charity is close to Dennis’ heart, and he has made sizeable donations thanks to his success at the poker table. He gave a portion of his Main Event final table winnings to the ‘Put a Bad Beat on Cancer’ campaign, and PokerStars matched the amount, meaning a sum of $90,355 was given to the charity. Phillips is a modest man, who carried himself with dignity and class throughout the World Series and its final table delay. He is a member of Team PokerStars Pro, and plays online as 'D. Phillips'.