Phillip Tom was born in 1942, in Nevada, US. He is an amateur poker player and finished at 30th place at the $5000 Limit/No Limit Hold’em Event from the WSOP, which took place in July, 2008. That brought Phillip Tom back to win the eleventh event of the 2008 World Series of Poker and the $5000 No Limit Hold’em Shootout. Finishing 30th is what brought Phillip Tom to the observers’ eyes after some time of silence.
Back in April, 2007 he made his first big appearance at the Super Satellite - No Limit Hold'em section in the WPT World Championship / WPT Event Season 5. Then he won $25,000. Then, in June he participated in the 39th World Series of Poker, In the No Limit/Hold’em section and finished 40th. That earned him the prize of $14,762. Being an amateur player isn’t always easy. Despite the feeling that there are far better players, Phillip Tom manages to prove that not only professionals can play well. And not just well!
Aged 55, he has participated in about 10 major poker events, and on June, 6th, 2008 he finished 1st in the 39th WSOP. Maybe there is a brighter future in front of him? We can only guess. But it’s up to him to prove that amateur players can also play professionally. Given the period he needed to become what he is, we should certainly expect great things from Phillip Tom.