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Luca Pagano is a man of trademarks. He has a trademark Italia jacket, a trademark wink, and a trademark smile. Emotional yet composed, friendly yet fierce, and confident yet humble--Pagano defines them all. In an age when many parents have been forced to come to grips with having poker players as children, the young Italian gives mothers and fathers hope.

Once a computer programming student, Pagano bought into the online poker boom just a few years ago. The deposit was small (less than $100). In the amount of time it takes most people of his age to start a career, Pagano has climbed to the top of his. A long-time member of Team PokerStars Pro, Pagano as developed, refined, and re-refined his game over his time on the live poker circuit. In the past several years, Pagano has made two European Poker Tour final tables and amassed 20 live tournament cashes.

Most recently, Pagano has been seen playing a dual role as both player and tournament organizer. He and his father hosted the EPT event in San Remo last week. Now, here at the EPT Grand Final, Luca has jumped out to an early Day 2 lead. He sits with more than 170,000 chips.

It's clear Luca's father, Claudio, has more than accepted Luca's role in the game. He's joined him. Claudio Pagano started today with a better-than-average stack.

Luca Pagano's fortune here at the Grand Final is still in flux. However, if his life to this point is any indication, the smiling young Italian may just be in for something good here this week.