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Poker Player Panayote ‘Pete the Greek’ Vilandos Passes Away

The poker world is now in mourning as news that the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet Panayote Vilandos aka ‘Pete the Greek’ passed away on 24^th July. Vilandos was 82 years old when he died.

Love and messages of condolences for the late poker player poured in from the poker community. The news of his passing was shared on social media by David Plastik. Peter Costa, former Aussie Millions champions said, “Peter was one of the first players to befriend me when I first started coming to Vegas over 23 years ago. Very sad. Condolences to his loved ones.”

“Great player! I thought one of the most amazing performances ever was when, in 2009, he took 2nd out of 6,012 in a 1k NL event, then a few days later beat 2,056 to win a bracelet in a 1500!” said Blair Rodman.

Adrian Sanders said, “Sad news! I loved dealing with Pete when I lived in Houston. I’ll never forget when he put someone to a decision for all of their chips, they would ask him what he had. With his accent, he would always respond with, “a pair, a straight, and a flush draw.” He will be missed.”

Here are a few more tweets from the community:

Haha I remember he told me when they got 3 handed or heads up one of u proposed a deal asking for more and said something like “I’m one of the best online players in the world” and Pete said he replied “well I’m Pete the Greek deal the cards!” 😂

— Len Ashby (@ZENofLEN) August 3, 2022

Great Guy and good friend. RIP Pete

— David Plastik (@davidplastik) August 3, 2022

Was a pleasure playing with him, he had an incredible amount joy and wittiness at the table. Was very respected/liked throughout the poker community. He will be missed.

— Kyle Julius (@KJulius10) August 7, 2022

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ALSO READ: The Greek Gambler Who Won $40 Million And Lost It All

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Who was ‘Pete the Greek’?

Born on 30^th May 1940, Vilandos came to the United States as a Greek immigrant when he was 27 years old. While he already had a degree from the University of Athens, he earned a second degree after graduating in electrical engineering from the University of Houston.

Vilandos has accumulated over $3,2666,764 in lifetime earnings, according to Hendon Mob. He won three WSOP bracelets. His first one was at WSOP 1995 when he shipped Event #10: $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em for $148,500. The second bracelet was won in WSOP 2009 after he clinched Event $24: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em for $607,256. His third and final bracelet came in WSOP 2012 and when he shipped Event #50: $5,000 No Limit Hold’em for $952,694.

“Well, it’s between today and the last two times that I won. Today, my wife was here with me, and she shares this. She stayed with me the whole way through the last table. So, I enjoyed it a lot better today. I was very calm, and I was focused on my opponents, you know. There are some very intelligent people who sat here. The last table was very smart people. But I got lucky, and I played the way I know how to play.”

For Vilandos, poker was something he played for fun. The retired businessman believed that his background in engineering helped him at the tables. He was a significant member of the poker community and will be truly missed.

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