Maurice Benard has plenty of reason to celebrate this week…

The 49-year-old Salvadorian & Nicaraguan American soap opera star has notched his seventh Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for his role as romantic mobster Michael “Sonny” Corinthos, Jr. on ABC’s General Hospital.

Benard is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He’ll face off against his General Hospital co-star Anthony Geary, as well as The Bold And The Beautiful’s John McCook, All My Children’s Darnell Williams and One Life to Live’s Robert S. Woods.

Benard, who has been playing “Sonny” since 1993, won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series back in 2003 for his popular role on General Hospital.

In all, General Hospital leads the field with 23 nominations.

The 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will take place on Saturday, June 23.

Click here for the complete list of nominees.