Nick the Greek

Dandolos was the son of wealthy parents. He attended the Greek Evangelical College and earned a degree in philosophy. When he was 18 years old his grandfather sent him to the U.S.A. with an allowance of $150 per week. Although Dandolos settled down in Chicago he eventually moved to Montreal where he began gambling on horse races.

Dandolos was known throughout his life for winning and losing large sums of money. After winning over $500,000 on horse racing, he moved back to Chicago where he lost it all on card and dice games. He quickly became a master of these games, however, and became a prime attraction at gaming establishments when he would play in them.

In 1949 Dandolos once played with Johnny Moss in a five month long poker marathon set up by Benny Binion, losing 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."

At the end of his life Dandolos was broke and playing $5 games in Southern California. He died in 1966 and was a charter inductee of the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.

A book by Ted Thackrey was published in 1968 titled Gambling Secrets of Nick the Greek.