-- Chip count: 26,420,000

-- Age 53

-- From St. Louis, Missouri

-- Account manager for a commercial trucking company

-- Actually lives in suburban town of Cottage Hills, Illinois – but calls St. Louis his home

-- Gained entry by winning a WSOP satellite held at Harrahs Casino in St. Louis

-- Nickname is "Fordman"

-- Earned B.A. college degree

Phillips won his seat in a $200 live satellite near his home in St. Louis, Missouri. Though he has a day job – as a commercial account manager – he clearly knows his way round a poker table. How has he found the tournament? ‘Pretty doggone good, but tough! These guys know how to play poker.’