WSOP Guide to the November Nine (Part One)

...And then there were nine.

What began with six thousand, eight hundred and forty-four entrants has now been narrowed down to nine men. After days and days of nothing but poker, the field of entrants was slowly narrowed down to just ten players. After the last ten players battled it out for close to three hours, Dean Hamrick was finally knocked out of the World Series of Poker. Although he played a great tournament, Hamrick (who is from Plymouth, Michigan) just missed making it to the final table of Poker's biggest event. At a little before three thirty on Tuesday morning, the only remaining players in the WSOP were the nine players that will sit around the final table in November.

Although you will most likely begin to hear a lot about these players over the next one hundred and seventeen days, over this and the next two parts of this series, you will receive an up close look at each of the coveted nine. So, even though you won't get to see them play against each other until November, you can get the scoop on each player right now:

Seat One: Dennis Phillips
Chip Count: 26,295,000

Going into the final event in November, Dennis Phillips has a dominant chip lead over at least half of his competitors. However, as the game of Texas Hold'em has demonstrated time and time again, going into a major event as the chip leader is not even close to guaranteeing finishing on top. Phillips will be just as nervous as his competitors when he sits down at the final table (if not more nervous).

Dennis Phillips, who lives in Cottage Hills, Illinois and works as a truck salesman, is not a novice to the game of poker. Phillips plays in tournaments hosted by his local casino three to four times per week. In 2007, he earned $2,386 by placing ninth in a No Limit Hold'em WSOP Circuit Event. He added an additional $2,192 two days later at another No Limit Hold'em Circuit Event, which brings his lifetime tournament earnings to $4,578. Obviously, this total is going to get a huge bump after the final table. Even if Phillips is the first to be eliminated from the final table, he will take home a staggering $900,670!