Dennis Phillips will have recent history on his side Sunday in Las Vegas when final-table action resumes to crown the 2008 World Series of Poker champion. But the chip leader knows it'll take more than that to win the game's biggest prize.

"If those other eight guys want to concede to me, I'd take it!" said Phillips, laughing heartily. He knows that with $9 million going to the main-event champ and $32 million in total up for grabs, there's no chance his opponents will just fold.

Three of the last five main-event champs — Chris Moneymaker ('03), Greg Raymer ('04) and Jamie Gold ('06) — held the chip lead when their final-table showdown began. Phillips says he isn't feeling extra pressure to match those efforts just because he has the lead, however.

"I'm a pretty laid-back guy," said the account manager for a commercial trucking company in St. Louis. "I'm just enjoying it. Having the chip lead is just a nice little advantage. I think it puts more pressure on the other players."

At 53, Phillips is twice as old as two of his opponents. All of the others are under 40, and most have major-tournament winnings far exceeding his two cashes for $4,578 in WSOP Circuit tournaments last September in Tunica, Miss. Although he has been playing tournament poker only four years, he is undeterred.

"I don't think my experience level is a disadvantage at this stage. I made the final table in both of those WSOP events last year, and I have dominated tournaments in my local area," Phillips said.

Still, when he won a $200 buy-in satellite tourney at Harrah's in St. Louis to gain his $10,000 main-event seat, he says he "had no idea what to expect when I went to Vegas. I sat down and said I'm either going to do OK or I'm going to need a whole lot more learning. After about three hours, I started getting real comfortable."

He was unsettled, however, in mid-July when the tournament was paused nearly four months with nine players left. The unprecedented move was designed to build interest and to mesh — in near real time — with ESPN's prime-time airing Tuesday of the championship just hours after it concludes.

"I wanted to finish it up in July. I was on a nice roll and had a great read of the table. Now, as I look back on the last four months and the opportunities I've had, I'm kind of glad we took the break," Phillips said.

Those opportunities include hiring two pros to help improve his game, international travel to play in major events, a standing ovation on his first visit back to his local card room and tons of interviews (this one was his 168th!).

He even got to throw a ceremonial first pitch for his beloved St. Louis Cardinals at a home game — an experience capped when Cards slugger Albert Pujols came onto the field to give him an autographed bat.

In the crowd watching him toss that pitch was his 84-year-old mother, but that turned out to be one of the last times Phillips would be with her. She passed away a couple of weeks later.

"She was doing a crossword puzzle, fell asleep and just never woke up," he said. "She was an amazing woman. I had two fantastic parents. They were married for 65 years. I was blessed, there's no doubt about it."

Another emotional event was his visit with wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "That was unbelievable. It wasn't an easy trip, but it was well worth it. I'd never experienced anything like that," said Phillips.

He told of meeting a soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan, but "he was talking and laughing and joking about how bright his future was. Then he had his 8-year-old son laughing because he told him the robot legs they were building would make him three inches taller than before.''

"Some of the amazing stories I heard at Walter Reed made my jaw drop to the ground," he said.

Phillips himself has turned heads with heartfelt charitable efforts tied to his WSOP success. Long before the final table was set, he was one of the main-event participants who signed up to donate 1 percent of any winnings to Phil Gordon's "Put a Bad Beat on Cancer."

Most players didn't pledge. "I think it's a no-brainer. You're getting found money," Phillips said.

He asked online giant PokerStars, one of his sponsors, to match his donation. "They agreed quickly, so if I win this thing, it'll be about $182,000 going to cancer prevention. That would be fabulous."

Other charities he's helping include the Pujols Family Foundation and the St. Louis chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Phillips' brother Don, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about 10 years ago, will be one of 300 family members and friends at the Rio Hotel on Sunday to cheer him on. They'll all celebrate later at a blowout party — no matter where Phillips finishes.

"It's going to be hilarious," said Phillips.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

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