He beat out a record field of 592 in the €10,000 buy-in main event to take home the title, his first bracelet, and the top prize of €1.4 million ($1,927,310).

It’s not the first time the 25 year old has won. Earlier this year, he took the title at the Bellagio Cup VII, in Vegas.

The last stage of the main event was played inside the Hotel Majestic Barriére’s ballroom with hardly any spectators and no loud cheering sections, unlike that of the main event in Vegas.

When play got down to 12-handed Fox accumulated enough chips for the lead and kept it upon entering the final table. After nine hours, he finished what he started to take the top share of the €5,692,800 ($7,836,414) prize pool in his first WSOP Europe main event, but he had to withstand a final table weighed down by big names of the online and live poker world to get there.

So let’s here it for Elio.

Awesome play, man.

The argument is aimed at crippling a prosecution that seeks to permanently shut down the three largest Internet poker companies operating in the United States.

I hope this strategy works. I really do.

The lawyers made their arguments in papers filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday and Monday, seeking to have charges dismissed against the bank executive, John Campos, and co-defendant Chad Elie.

The government alleges that Elie persuaded Campos to let SunFirst Bank, based in St. George, Utah, process money for foreign-based online poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Both men had pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers challenged various gambling charges brought against the men for several reasons, saying the government had stretched gambling laws to bring charges against 11 individuals.

Lawyers for Elie cited the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, enacted in 1988, which they said puts poker in the same category as bingo and card games, but not with such card games as baccarat or blackjack.

The lawyers said poker differs from gambling games because the company that charges a fee or “rake” to provide a venue for the game — in this case the Internet — does not participate in the game at all.

They said online poker is a game in which the players have some control over the outcome.

“The players compete against each other on a level playing field, using an array of talents and skill to prevail over their opponents,” the lawyers wrote.

So we’ll see.

Stay tuned.

If it would help bring more revenue for the cash-starved state.

The Field Poll (which I’ve never heard of, I must confess) released one of the first public indications of voter sentiment on an issue that has consumed Capitol negotiations without producing a deal.

Fifty-three percent of registered voters want to license online poker and have the state tax its proceeds, and 41 percent oppose it, according to the survey.

Support for the idea is highest among younger voters, Democrats, independents and people who have played poker in a casino or card club.

Raymond Lesniak plans on introducing a bill, which will make it legal for casinos in the state to provide their customers with the facility to play poker online for money.

According to PlayPokerOnline.com, this legislation would make sure that it covers the problem areas of a similar bill introduced last year. The previous bill introduced in 2010 was ultimately vetoed by Governor Chris Christie in March 2011.

Lesniak says that Governor Christie vetoed the 2010 poker bill, as he was apprehensive about the fact that profits from online poker may go to horse racing as well. He was also concerned that the bill may lead to opening of numerous internet cafes in the state. To counter these drawbacks, Lesniak has ensured that his new bill forbids both these activities. Lesniak has even reached out to the U.S Attorney General, Eric Holder, by writing him a letter that emphasizes on the fact that it is up to the state governments to decide whether they want online gambling to be legalized within their own borders.

However, not all senators are in sync with the views expressed by Lesniak in his letter to the U.S Attorney General. Senator Harry Reid, who is a democratic senator from Nevada, and republican senator from Arizona, Jon Kyl, both have been on the other side of this debate. Both of them firmly believe that if states were to legalize real money poker and online gambling then they would be going against the U.S Wire Act of 1961.

It has been estimated by a trade association for offshore casinos that if this bill were to be passed and online poker legalized in NJ, then casinos in Atlantic City could generate as much as $250 million dollars in revenue. This amount would include almost $55 million in taxes.

Money is not the only benefit, it is also expected that this move might end up creating more than 2000 new employment opportunities.

But every once in a while something interesting flashes across my screen that I think you might be interested in.

So here goes. Take it with a grain of salt. Remember…press releases are P.R. for the person putting out the release. They aren’t necessarily all TRUE. Or, at least totally true. OK?

The release says:

Canadian-poker.ca reports that Full Tilt Poker, the online poker room notoriously shut down in America and worldwide, has taken its first step toward repaying players by finally paying off a $250,000 debt to its licensors.

The source for this money is unknown, though Canadian-poker.ca spokesman Leon Daniels predicts that it may mean potential investors in Full Tilt, including 888 Poker, Bwin.Party and Playtech, could be closer than ever to reaching a deal.

“With Full Tilt Poker’s finances finally looking better, it doesn’t mean the site will be back online soon, and we at Canadian-poker.ca will continue to recommend our players choose 888 Poker as the preferred online poker room.”

“I’ve mentioned before why companies like 888 would be interested in purchasing Full Tilt Poker. 888 has one of the biggest online poker rooms in the world, and they lost many players to the illegally operated Full Tilt. Now that Full Tilt is no longer active in the Canadian market, it makes sense that 888, a stable and reliable company, would take the opportunity to win back players in Canada, even if it means having to take responsibility for Full Tilt’s infamous debts.

“This shows just how stable 888 is. It is yet to be confirmed if 888 will invest in Full Tilt, but I certainly hope so.”

”I don’t believe PokerStars, formerly a huge presence in the online poker world, is a potential investor. Black Friday and subsequent investigations seem to have PokerStars’ hands full at the moment,” Daniels explained. ”While they’re faring better than Full Tilt by far, they still have to deal with the authorities,” he said.

Daniels continued to say that Party Poker, another potential Full Tilt investor, is also in the same league in terms of appealing to Canadian online poker players. “However,” he said, “Party Poker, who recently merged with Bwin Poker, already has a substantial share of the Canadian market, so it might be of less interest to them.”

Daniels added, “With Full Tilt Poker’s finances finally looking better, it doesn’t mean the site will be back online soon, and we at Canadian-poker.ca will continue to recommend our players choose 888 Poker as the preferred online poker room.”

OK. That’s it.

My reading: They are fishing for investors. Mentioning a lot of names.

Whether anything at all will come of this is worth watching.

Stay tuned.

Hey, I hope the biz comes back online and pays back what it owes.

And I also hope the U.S. legalizes online gambling.

Don’t you?