Now that we know the World Series of Poker's "November Nine," let's figure out which finalist will be favored by the legions of new fans expected to be watching on Nov. 11.

This exercise would have been easier if a likable big-name professional or a petite brunette had made the main event's final table. Alas, Mike Matusow, the last pro standing most people would have recognized, exited a very respectable 30th, and Tiffany Michelle Graham, the 24-year-old who had a date with history as only the second woman to make the final table, was jilted in 17th.

This final nine may not be exactly what WSOP and ESPN marketers were hoping for, but it's an interesting group nonetheless. Picking a player to root for won't be too tough.

For instance, the nation's truck drivers and most average working stiffs likely will pull for Dennis Phillips, a 53-year-old account manager for a trucking firm in St. Louis. Phillips, who lives across the Mississippi River in Cottage Hill, Ill., also should pull support from much of the Midwest.

Excitement about his run surfaced while he was battling his way into the chip lead with a stack of 26.3 million. A card room he frequents in St. Louis showed hand-for-hand reports on monitors last week. Players in the room cheered each time Phillips won a pot.

Phillips also wins the hearts of baseball fans across the country. He reportedly turned down five-figure money from an online poker site rather than swap his St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap for one of theirs as cameras rolled. One exception to this bandwagon would be Chicago Cubs fans, of course.

Let's also give Phillips the over-50 crowd, since he's by far the senior citizen of this bunch.

Meanwhile, it's a good bet the college community will root for Craig Marquis, a student at the University of Texas-Arlington.

Marquis apparently drew upon the analytical thinking he uses in school to weave his way through the field of 6,844 players. Calculating the impact of the $9.1 million first-place prize should be easy for the finance major.

Marquis, at age 23, gets a big chunk of the 20-something crowd, too. If he pulls off the victory he would become the youngest ever to win the main event. Phil Hellmuth was 24 when he won in 1989.

It also figures Marquis will be popular with folks from the state that long ago gave Texas hold 'em its name.

Fans who cheer for underdogs will get behind Kelly Kim, 31, of Whittier, Calif., who brings just 2.6 million chips to the final table. That's way behind everyone else, but remember he was in that same position last week when it seemed inevitable he would "bubble" in 10th place.

Instead, Kim showed remarkable patience, didn't play a single hand for more than an hour and doggedly hung in there until Marquis' Q-Q eliminated the A-J of Dean Hamrick of Plymouth, Mich. So, let's give Kim all those viewers who believe the tortoise really can beat the hare.

Professional poker players, including many well-known ones, mostly will back David Rheem, a 28-year-old pro from Los Angeles who has been playing for 10 years. Once Tiffany Michelle's run ended, he had the largest and loudest cheering section in the Rio Casino's Amazon Room, including quite a few pros.

Also in Rheem's corner could be those who like to play super-aggressively. That's Rheem's style, and he is prone to major chip-stack fluctuations as a result. He'll also get general support from both southern coasts, since he used to live in Miami. He must first, however, deal with some legal issues reported last week in a Florida newspaper.

The final U.S. contestant, Ylon Schwartz, 38, of Brooklyn, should have the Northeast locked up. Serious gamers may get behind him, too, since he's a former professional chess player who hustled games for money in New York City's public parks before turning to poker.

Four international players will have huge support from their respective homelands and from anyone who'd like to see history made in November. These players are from countries that have never claimed the champion's title:

Ivan Demidov, 27, of Moscow (second in chips with 24.4 million); Peter Eastgate, 22, of Odense, Denmark (youngest at the table); and two players from Canada — Scott Montgomery, 26, of Perth, and Darus Suharto, 39, of Toronto.

That leaves the bookies. Who do they like?

Oddsmakers rate Phillips and Demidov at 4-1, closely followed by Montgomery and Eastgate at 9-2. Then it's Schwartz 8-1, Suharto 17-2, Rheem and Marquis 10-1, and short-stacked Kim at 50-1. Remember, though, these same "experts" listed 2007 champ Jerry Yang as the long-shot last year.

In the end, of course, the winner will be the player with Lady Luck on his side!

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.

COPYRIGHT 2008 RUSS SCOTT

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