MARYLAND’S MERSON WINS WORLD SERIES OF POKER

Greg Merson of Laurel, Md., 24, is the 2012 champion of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event, earning $8,531,853. Merson was crowned after almost 12 hours of play Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning at Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater. (Photo by Jason Bean/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Greg Merson cried.

He stood at the poker table at center stage of the Rio's Penn & Teller Theater, behind stacks of bundled $100 bills that simulated his first-place prize of more than $8.53 million, and let the tears flow.

At age 24, Merson, a professional poker player from Laurel, Md., was at the top of the poker world early Wednesday morning. He captured the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker, topping a field of 6,598 players.