Tim McKernan
07-14-2008, 05:09 AM
I was incorrect when I wrote last week the last St. Louisan had been knocked out of the WSOP.
It turns out that not only is there a St. Louisan still playing...he's the chip leader going into today's final session before the 4 month break and the final table.
Dennis Phillips, a regular at Harrah's, is leading the WSOP with 11.9 million chips.
I actually played against Dennis 2 weeks ago when I played at Harrah's.
Having never played a live tournament out there, I didn't know about him when I got out there. But, we were at the same table in the tournament, and he was in seat 1...I was in seat 9, and one of the guys out there said, "Beware of Dennis. He's an incredible player."
He took a bad beat on a hand about an hour in, so he was in all-in mode to try and recover. He did double up against me when he pushed preflop with AJ vs. my AK...and the AJ turned into a 9 to K straight.
But, later on in the tournament, I knocked him out with a full house 3's full of 4's.
I had no idea just how good this guy was. It's one thing to run deep in the WSOP. I wouldn't say "anyone" can do it, but when you see the likes of Jerry Yang win it last year, it gives you an idea of the luck factor. But, Dennis had won the last 2 Harrah's Saturday afternoon $125 buy-ins...and now he's leading the WSOP. That's consistent success, which is an illustration of great skill, and now, he's guaranteed a minimum of $77,000...and most likely much, much more.
They'll play today until the 27 remaining players turns into 9.
Best of luck to Dennis Phillips this afternoon and evening in Las Vegas.
It turns out that not only is there a St. Louisan still playing...he's the chip leader going into today's final session before the 4 month break and the final table.
Dennis Phillips, a regular at Harrah's, is leading the WSOP with 11.9 million chips.
I actually played against Dennis 2 weeks ago when I played at Harrah's.
Having never played a live tournament out there, I didn't know about him when I got out there. But, we were at the same table in the tournament, and he was in seat 1...I was in seat 9, and one of the guys out there said, "Beware of Dennis. He's an incredible player."
He took a bad beat on a hand about an hour in, so he was in all-in mode to try and recover. He did double up against me when he pushed preflop with AJ vs. my AK...and the AJ turned into a 9 to K straight.
But, later on in the tournament, I knocked him out with a full house 3's full of 4's.
I had no idea just how good this guy was. It's one thing to run deep in the WSOP. I wouldn't say "anyone" can do it, but when you see the likes of Jerry Yang win it last year, it gives you an idea of the luck factor. But, Dennis had won the last 2 Harrah's Saturday afternoon $125 buy-ins...and now he's leading the WSOP. That's consistent success, which is an illustration of great skill, and now, he's guaranteed a minimum of $77,000...and most likely much, much more.
They'll play today until the 27 remaining players turns into 9.
Best of luck to Dennis Phillips this afternoon and evening in Las Vegas.