Nick the Greek
Nicholas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos (born in Rethymnon, Crete 1883 - December 25, 1966) was a professional gambler and high roller. His beginings were far from humble. From the start of life, Nicholas was in a world of wealth and privilidge. Dandolos was the son of wealthy parents. He attended the Greek Evangelical College and earned a degree in philosophy.
Upon turning 18, Nick took his well honed intellect and $150 a week allowance (this was a fortune in 1901) to the United States. While living in Montreal, his prowess at gambling began to manifest itself. He was a natural when it came to dealing with odds and the sort of numbers that would send most people sprinting for the aspirin bottle. In these early days he had also struck up a friendship with Phil Musgrave, a well known jockey of the day. Nick applied his keen mind, along with what information he could glean from Phil, and turned it into a $500,000 profit for one season of betting on the horses. Nick moved down from the “Great White North” to Chicago. Here he quickly lost the half million he had brought with him. Not one to be daunted by a simple thing like sudden, unexpected poverty he went on, and learned the finer points of cards and dice. It was eerie how well he took to these disciplines. It was almost as if evolution, for one brief moment, had taken a break from turning monkeys into creatures that were not altogether unlike simians, and decided it was going to create a being perfectly suited to survive in a casino. Dandolos was so good and became so respected in the Chicago gambling scene; he was often offered jobs by the casinos. Many figured it was just cheaper to pay him a salary than to let him play. Either way he was going to get their money, it just came down to how much he was going to pocket. Realizing taking a position with a casino would, in effect, be a pay cut, he usually declined.
In 1949 Dandolos once played with Johnny Moss in a five month long poker marathon where the two played virtually every game that existed at the time. The game, set up by Benny Binion, cost Dandolos anywhere from $2 million to $4 million. At the end of the marathon, down millions of dollars, Dandolos uttered what has become one of the most famous poker quotes ever, "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go."
One urban legend claims that Dandolos once had the opportunity to escort Albert Einstein around Las Vegas. Thinking that his gambling friends may not be familiar with him, Dandolos allegedly introduced Einstein as "Little Al from Princeton" and stated that he "controlled a lot of the action around Jersey." Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman also met Nick the Greek, according to the autobiographical Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!.
Nick explains how he wins big not by playing the tables, but by knowing the odds at the tables and betting against others who have superstitious beliefs about the outcome. He then relies on his reputation to bet against others. At the end of his life Dandolos was broke and playing $5 limit games in Southern California. When asked by a fellow player how he could once play Poker for millions and now be playing for such a small amount, Dandolos supposedly replied "Hey, it's action". He died on Christmas Day in 1966 and was a charter inductee of the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
It's estimated that he won and lost over $500 million in his lifetime. He himself claimed that he went from rags to riches over 75 times. A man who never respected money, he donated over $20 million (about $400 million in 2004 dollars) to education and charity.