About
Professional gambler and high roller; he was a 1979 charter inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame and is nicknamed Nick the Greek.
Before Fame
His gambling career started with horse racing, then led to card and dice games, where he initially lost more than $500,000 before mastering both.
Trivia
He made many claims over his lifetime and nurtured many urban legends about himself, including the boast that he had gone from rags to riches more than 73 times.
Family Life
His parents were wealthy; his grandfather gave him a $150 weekly allowance after Nick the Greek moved to the United States.
Associated With
He and Johnny Moss pioneered the World Series of Poker with their January to May 1949 two-person heads-up poker match.
