Downstate man leads World Series of Poker

Does an Illinois man have a shot at winning one of the nation's biggest poker tournaments? You bet.

Dennis Phillips of Cottage Hills, near Alton, leads nine finalists in the World Series of Poker's main event in Las Vegas.

The 53-year-old trucking account manager's chip count of 26.3 million is nearly 2 million more than Russia's Ivan Demidov.

The finalists have been sent home for now from Vegas and will return in November to play for the first-place prize of $9.1 million.

Phillips is among five Americans still vying for the prize, with other finalists from Russia, Denmark and Canada.

Entry into the tournament cost $10,000 and each player sat down with 20,000 in chips.