Palumbo, who won a bracelet at the 2012 WSOP in a $1k Hold'em event, earned €140,000 ($180,097 USD) and a seat at the $25k WPT Championship in May for the win to push his career earnings up past $1 million.
The 24-year-old former accountant from Genova defeated Marcello Montagner heads-up after dominating play three-handed and Montagner turned two pair to oust poker icon Mike Sexton in third.
Sexton Earns Highest-Ever WPT Finish
Sexton, known more these days for being the voice of the WPT but with a 30-year career at the felt behind him, proved he's still at the top of his game and took home $69,723 to add to his $5.3 million in career earnings.
The third-place finish is also Sexton's highest ever on the WPT.
The 38-year-old Montagner, who put bad beats on both Ludovic Lacay (AK>AA) and Matt Salsberg (Rivered straight > Salsberg's flopped set of 3s) to take the chip lead into the final table, earned $108,316 for his runner-up finish.
The official final-table results at the WPT Venice Grand Prix and payouts:
1. Rocco Palumbo $180,097 2. Marcello Montagner $108,316 3. Mike Sexton $69,723 4. Roberto Begni $51,585 5. Xia Lin $38,721 6. Erion Islamay $31,002For a full recap of all the action, check the WPT Live Updates.
The next stop on the WPT is at Casino Barcelona for bwin WPT Barcelona from April 5-10.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com