Dennis Phillips, the current chip leader on day 7, talks to Melissa about how relaxed the main event has been for him. Phillips also got here off a $200 satellite.

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.

Dennis Phillips Long Term Poker Goals:

To win the World Series ME

Phillips is so modest about his poker achievements that he only told friends he had qualified for the Main Event at a party several weeks later and only after several drinks. If he keeps playing the way he has been, he could soon find the glare of the media spotlight a more permanent fixture.

He has just a couple of major tournament cashes to his name, both in WSOP Circuit events in nearby Robinsonville (a 9th for $2,386 and a 7th for $2,192 within two days in September 2007).

Remarkably, the Main Event is the only tournament the 53 year-old has played at this year's series and he has carefully managed to avoid the limelight; until now.