It's all guns blazing in the desert of Las Vegas but there's business to be done in Italy beforehand...

Stefano Puccilli, a 37-year old banker, has become the first PokerStars Italian Poker Tour (IPT) champion after fighting passed more than 250 players to win the inaugural event in San Remo.

Twenty-two players made it to day three to fight for the lion's share of the nearly €500,000 prize pool. It took nine and half hours to make it down to the eight-handed final table. The only Team PokerStars Italy Pro remaining in the field, Nicola Fedeli, exited in 10th place.

It took another six hours to see the final hand. Puccilli got it all-in pre-flop with pocket eights versus a naked ace, only to see a [Jc] [Ah] [Qc] flop. Then the [9d] popped up on the turn and opened up a few more outs for Puccilli. The the miracle: the [10s] fell on the river and the game was Puccilli's. The banker banked 120,000 Euros for the win.

Puccilli has only been playing poker for four years and found his way into the game like many others, having watched televised poker with friends. He eventually outgrew games with friends and started playing on PokerStars, a path that led him straight to San Remo and glory.

If you'd like to play in the next IPT event, you might want to wax up your gondola. Venice, Italy will host the next IPT tournament July 23-26.