It's now been a few days since the 2012 WSOP Main Event ended, but Greg Merson is still reveling in his big victory. The Laurel, Maryland native outlasted a 6,598-player field to win the $8,531,853 first place prize and a spot in poker history. Seeing as how the Main Event is now completed, let's have a little fun by reviewing some facts about both Merson and the world's most prestigious poker tournament.

Long Line of US Champs - Greg Merson is the 35th American to win the WSOP Main Event, which isn't surprising since the tourney has always been held in the United States. But since 1990 - when the first non-American won - 7 of the past 22 champions have come from outside the US. Merson actually put an end to a streak since Pius Heinz (2011, Germany) and Jonathan Duhamel (2010, Canada) were the last two winners.

Well Paid - After collecting the aforementioned $8.53 million prize for his victory, Merson becomes the fifth biggest overall winner in Main Event history. The WSOP Main Event payouts that rank above him include Jamie Gold's $12 million (2006), Peter Eastgate's $9,152,416 (2008), Duhamel's $8,944,138 and Heinz's $8,715,638.

Marathon Men - The 2012 WSOP Main Event featured the longest-running final table in history. It took 19.5 hours to decide a winner, which is two hours longer than the previous record set in 2009 (17.25 hours).

Leading Ladies - Gaelle Baumann and Elisabeth Hille just narrowly missed the final table this year, but they still managed to set a couple of records. First off, they both earned $590,442, which is the largest payout ever for a female Main Event participant. They also combined for the best-finishing duo in a WSOP ME. About the only record they didn't set was joining Barbara Enright (1995) as the lone woman to make an ME final table.

As you can see, there were definitely some interesting records and milestones set in this past WSOP Main Event. That said, it will be interesting to tune in next year and see what records are broken!