Nick the Greek – A High Stakes Poker Life
There’s a lot to tell about the amazing life of Nick the Greek – one of the most legendary gamblers to have ever lived. Keep reading to find out how he earned his name and why his story is still being told.
Who is Nick the Greek?
If you’re from the west coast of the United States, your first thought was probably that we were writing an article on the famous restaurant chain, Nick the Greek, but no, we’re talking about the real deal here – Nick Dandalos, the legendary gambler.
Nick Dandalos, known popularly as Nick the Greek, was a Greek-born professional gambler who moved to the US as a young adult and soon became known throughout the whole country as a professional gambler. We’ll tell you about his interesting and captivating life story here.
Nick the Greek: Early Life
Nick the Greek was born as Nikolaos Andreas Dandolos in Rethymno, Crete (then Ottoman Empire, now Greece) on 27th April 1883. Nick came from a wealthy Greek family that gave him a cushy upbringing. It was a time before any Greek casino sites existed, so Nick didn’t become famous in his native country.
Nick studied philosophy at the Evangelical School of Greece and graduated in 1901. Soon after that, his grandfather helped him migrate to the United States and gave him the staggering amount of $150 per week as allowance. In today’s money, that’s around five and a half grand ($5,308), which is quite the hefty weekly allowance.
Nick initially settled in Chicago, Illinois, likely with the help of family friends. It’s speculated that he fell in love with a woman in Chicago and when the relationship went sour, he decided to uproot himself from Chicago and move to Montreal, Canada. That’s where his gambling story begins.
Nick the Greek: Gambling Beginnings
The unexpected move to Montreal forever changed Nick’s life, because that’s where he picked his interest in gambling. In Montreal, he made friends with professional gamblers who opened him to the world of horse racing betting. Nick allegedly also met a horse racer there who taught him the secrets of the sport.
Whether it was beginner luck or insider information, Nick quickly made a fortune by betting on horse races in Canada. It’s still a mystery how an inexperienced bettor like Nick at the time could amass $500,000 in the matter of six months. For reference, $500,000 in the early 20th century correspond to around $17 million in today’s money.
Not even that many contemporary poker stars have made that much in tournaments, let alone in six months. However, it was clear from the very beginning that Nick wasn’t going to retire or invest this large sum of money. No, he gambled it away just as quickly as he won it.
Nick the Greek: The New Poker Legend
After losing his small fortune just like compatriot Archie Karas Nick decided to move back to Chicago and pursue a gambling career. He thought it was best to invest in learning poker and other card and dice games, which gave him more control over the outcome in comparison to horse race betting.
It turned out that Nick was a natural talent as he quickly picked up the intricacies of poker and soon made a name out of himself in the Chicago poker scene. However, it wasn’t only his talent that made him Nick the Greek, but also the excessive amounts of money he’d bet on a single game.
It wasn’t unusual for Nick the Greek to bet $100,000 per day, which is a large enough sum today, but it’s close to $3 million in today’s money. One time, he bet more than $1 million in a single dice tournament. He’d often come back home with more than half a million in his pocket.
This quickly made him famous in Chicago whereas casinos and poker clubs would even try to pay him to come to their establishment. Whether that was to keep him on their side or to use him as an attraction is not known, but it was probably a combination of the two. Still, Nick didn’t budge and remained independent.
Once Nevada legalised casino gaming in 1930, Nick the Greek quickly relocated there and immediately became the sensation of Las Vegas. Casino owners were dying to have him as their mascot, but he never agreed to their generous offers.
Nick the Greek vs Johnny Moss
Perhaps the most famous game that Nick the Greek took part in was the five-months long poker battle against another legendary player – Johnny Moss. The game was organised by Benny Binion in 1949. Binion was the owner of the Horseshoe Casino and he had a nick for business, because the game ended up bringing thousands of spectators.
It was no ordinary game either, not only because of the two legendary poker players who took part in it, but also because it stretched the limits as to what a poker game could be. Dandolos and Moss played every variation of poker. The two players would only take breaks to eat and sleep.
After five exhausting months and many poker games, the legend stood up one day and uttered the now famous words: ‘Mr Moss, I have to let you go’, which Nick the Greek’s gambler friends remembered. It’s estimated that Nick lost between $2 to $4 million in this long poker game, but not all was lost, because it was precisely this game that gave birth to the World Series of Poker.
Nick the Greek: Later Life
Nick the Greek led a very colourful life. Some of our favourite stories about them include his friendship with Albert Einstein whom Nick would take to poker games in Las Vegas and introduce him as an Italian gambler. According to Nick, the US State Department introduced him to Einstein because the physicist wanted to meet him.
Another famous physicist, Richard Feynman, also met him before Nick the Greek’s death and revealed that Nick told him his secret to winning in poker was by knowing the odds and playing on the other players’ insecurities and superstitions. Still, Nick won big and lost big.
Around the end of his life, when he moved to California, he’d be seen betting small sums at casual poker games. Nick the Greek apparently just loved the game of poker and didn’t care as much about the winnings. He died on 25th December, 1966 and was posthumously inducted in the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
Popular Questions
If you have questions about something we haven’t covered so far, like Nick the Greek’s net worth, do check out the FAQ. Below, you can find the most popular questions regarding Nick the Greek and their answers. If there’s anything else, feel to contact our team.
1️⃣ When was Nick the Greek born?
Reliable sources reveal that Nick the Greek was born on 27th April 1883 in, as his nickname suggests – Greece, although it was the Ottoman Empire at the time. Nick came from a wealthy family, which helped him move to the United States and financially supported him.
2️⃣ Why did Nick the Greek start gambling?
Nick only started gambling when he briefly moved to Montreal, Canada. In the beginning of Nick's professional gambling career there, were affluent horse racing bettors and horse racers who taught him how to bet on the sport. He won a small fortune and then moved to Chicago to further pursue gambling.
3️⃣ What games did Nick the Greek play?
After moving to Chicago and winning his now famous moniker, Nick the Greek decided to leave horse racing betting and move onto card and dice games. He's probably played every casino game under the sun, Nick the Greek's new legacy is commonly known for his poker games.
4️⃣ How did Nick the Greek become famous?
Nick the Greek became famous soon after he started playing poker in Chicago. He was instantly successful in his pursuit of poker, showing his skills in the game and perfecting the bluff, but Nick the Greek's giant poker bets is what earned him notoriety.
5️⃣ Which was Nick the Greek's most famous game?
There is one poker game, which forever cemented Nick the Greek's name in the world of poker. It took place in Nick the Greek's later life - in 1949. We are talking about the game versus Johnny Moss in the Horseshoe Casino. It's thought that this five-month-long game was the inspiration for creating the World Series of Poker.