A 48-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas, who got his start dealing blackjack at the now-defunct Dunes hotel and casino on Vegas’ famed Strip, has won Event #35 at the 2008 World Series of Poker.

Mike Rocco, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 25 years ago to work in the casino industry, collects $135,753 for the victory, and his first career WSOP championship gold bracelet.

WSOP Event #35 was a $1,500 buy-in, seven-card stud tournament with 381 participants, payouts to the Top 40 finishers and a total prize pool of about $500,000.

Finishing second in the event was Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, bagging $83,210.

Third was Levon Torosyan of Los Angeles, California, USA, leaving with $50,186.

Fourth was Max Troy, also of Los Angeles, amassing $37,184.

Fifth was Giacoma D’Agostino of North Providence, Rhode Island, USA, riding off with $28,083.

Sixth was Dan Kalpakis of Ajax, Ontario, Canada, cleaning up with $21,842.

Seventh was Andre Boyer of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, snagging $16,642.

Eighth was Jeff Siegal of Daly City, California, USA, taking home $14,401.

Ninth was Chuck Moore of Bossier City, Louisiana, USA, who won no less than $11,441.

Tenth was Roy Rose of Hollywood, Florida, USA, collecting a blooming $11,441.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)