Dennis Phillips has revealed that Poker has transformed hislife. In an interview, he gave a whole number of plusses that have come around since taking up the sport full-time.
"How did the Main Event change my life? Where do I begin? I went from not having a passport to travelling 200,000 miles in a single year. I’ve been to all four corners of the earth as a poker player and ambassador. I’ve become financially secure, purchased the company I used to work for and have met a large number of celebrities. There have not been a whole lot of big splurges. I still live in the same house and I still drive the same car. But I did go to a charity auction and buy a shadow box shaped like a home plate. It contains 11 baseballs that have been autographed by great Hall of Fame players like Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial. But I’ve done more in terms of investing money than spending it."
"I’ll also say that my poker game has improved. There are several reasons for this. To begin with, I’ve been travelling around the world and playing poker at a higher level than I had been previously. Plus, I’ve gotten friendly with people like Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negreanu. I talk to them about various situations and they explain how they might have handled them. They help me to develop fresh ideas about poker hands and how the game can be played. Barry and Daniel are great guys who are very generous in terms of sharing their poker knowledge."
"Sometimes, because people know who I am, I have to play differently than I ordinarily would. At the last World Series [during which Phillips finished a very respectable 45th, showing that his 2008 performance wasn’t a complete fluke] I had a camera crew following me for all of day one. People at my table played crazily, just for a chance to get on TV with me. So I tightened up and played like a complete nit. I couldn’t play my regular game that day. Obviously, that was completely different from day one in 2008."
"Looking back, I can tell you that I never imagined becoming a professional poker player. I played the game because I loved it – and I still do. Poker is fun and enjoyable and now I can make good money from it too. I keep my feet on the ground and try to keep evolving as a poker player."