"Prossimo al Papá!"

You wouldn't have thought poker could be educational or academic in any way, but when there are so many different nationalities represented, it's only a matter of time before you extend your linguistic vocabulary. In that sense, I now know that 'Prossimo al papá' means 'Come to daddy!' after it was exclaimed by an ecstatic Massimiliano Patroncini of Italy.

All in for several thousand in the big blind, Patroncini found himself up against two players in Nikolaos Panopoulos (cut-off) and Sorin Posa (small blind), with a pot of 20,000 created on the side.

On the {2-Spades}

flop, Panopoulos' hand began quivering slightly as he made a very suspicious bet of 6,000. Posa must have picked up on something, as he made the fold allowing Panopoulos to show {2-Clubs}

for a flopped set. Patroncini could only muster {4-Clubs}

.

A

on the turn led to Italian celebrations, however, as Patroncini punched the air in delight, the final {J-Clubs}

on the river led to him shouting, "Prossimo al Papá". I was originally unaware that there was any relation between Panopoulos and Patroncini, but nevertheless it was sad to see him so competitive towards his sibling... who actually seemed to be a little older!