Truck salesman Dennis Phillips of St. Louis could make a really big haul. Darus Suharto of Toronto might become the next accountant and online poker buff to turn a small investment into millions.

They are members of the November Nine, who begin final table play Sunday at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Top prize: $9.15 million.

In July, the original field of 6,844 entrants in the Texas Hold 'em main event was reduced to nine. Then, for the first time, the event went on a 117-day break. That was done to accommodate ESPN's same-day telecast next Tuesday night of the final table, expected to end in the early hours Tuesday.

In keep with the anybody-can-win theme of the main event, Phillips got his $10,000 seat in the tournament by winning a tournament at Harrah's St. Louis with a $200 entry fee. Now, he's the leader with more than 26 million chips, followed by Russian pro Ivan Demidov with more than 24 million.

The finalists (already paid ninth-place money of $900,670) have had the chance to study their foes and hone their games. Phillips, oldest in the field at 53, has been working with poker coaches Roy Winston and Joe McGowan of Oracle Poker Consulting.

"I fully suspect that when all nine of us sit back down that all of our games have improved a little bit," Phillips said.

Phillips still sells commercial trucks for Broadway Truck Centers in St. Louis.

"My life has not been normal since July. But I do still get into work as much as I can," he said.

His boss has facilitated that.

"He said, 'Look, I know it's going to be hectic. But it's the chance of a lifetime,' " Phillips said.

Phillips has pledged 1 percent of his winnings to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. PokerStars, the online poker site he now endorses, said it will match that.

Phillips also held an online auction for anyone to buy a patch he'll wear at the final table. He said about $19,000 paid by the Schindler Law Firm of St. Louis will go to the MS Foundation. He has donated $10,000 to the Albert Pujols Foundation, affiliated with the St Louis Cardinals baseball star.

Phillips is a Cardinals fan. At the tables in July, he wore a Cardinals caps and a white Broadway Trucks shirt. He'll wear the same at the final table, where he'll be supported by about 300 family members and friends.

"They're all going to be wearing Cardinal hats, and they're all going to be wearing Broadway Trucks shirts," Phillips said.

Suharto, 39, a native of Indonesia, got his seat in the main event with an investment of $80 by winning a couple of online PokerStars tournaments. In 2003, Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker won the main event after qualifying online on PokerStars.

Suharto started playing online in mid-2005.

"At the time, I had no idea about the World Series of Poker. I had no idea about Moneymaker," said Suharto, sixth in the chip count with about 12.5 million.

Suharto, an account at York University, said he has been getting instruction from pro Eric Lynch via Poker Inspector (online poker training.)

He said he's spent some of the money he already has won on an iPhone and to pay off his mortgage.

How about playing for $9.15 million?

"I thought I was going to be nervous, but I told myself I would just focus and try to concentrate," he said of being calm in July. "But I'm quite certain that I'm going to be nervous playing for $9 million."