Dennis the Greek

Dennis Gotsopoulos is a poker dealer at Bellagio. He recently had a remarkable week playing in poker tournaments in Las Vegas, which he described as, "My big fat Greek poker tournament winning week." He won the Wednesday night limit hold'em tournament at the Mirage and finished second in the Friday night no-limit hold'em tournament at Bellagio. He also won satellites to get into both of these events.

Rick Young: Dennis, tell us something about your history.

Dennis Gotsopoulos: I'm originally from Greece, and I moved to Germany in 1964 when I was 17 years old. In 1965 I moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I went to hairdressing school there and played poker every night to support myself. I opened two hairdressing salons in Winnipeg and continued to play high-stakes poker at night.

I got married in 1968 and have three children. My daughter, Gillin, who is 20 years old, is now attending the University of Winnipeg. She is studying to become a lawyer, and I am very proud of her. She will soon be moving to Las Vegas to continue her studies at UNLV. She and I both know the family in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The family and their restaurant are located in Winnipeg.

In 1979 I sold my businesses and moved to Denver. I then opened a hairdressing salon there.

In 1991 I moved to Las Vegas because I love to play poker. I played poker full time professionally for four years, mostly at Binion's Horseshoe. I often played with Telly Savalas, the actor. Then in 1995 I got a job dealing poker at Arizona Charlie's, because I love being involved with poker. In 2000 I started working as a poker dealer at Bellagio, and am currently employed there.

RY: Tell me about some key hands that you played in the Mirage tournament.

DG: In the middle stage of the tournament, I got pocket kings. The blinds were $50-$100, and I had about $4,000 in chips. I raised, and three players reraised until it was capped. One player had pocket aces. It was bet and raised to the river, where a king appeared. I busted two players with that hand. Soon after that, I got pocket deuces on the button. Two players limped in with A-K and A-J. I just called. The flop was 9-6-4. Everyone checked to me, so I bet. The A-K and A-J players both called me. A blank came on the turn, and we all checked. A deuce came on the river, I bet, and the A-K player called me. These hands helped me increase the size of my stack at this critical stage of the tournament. I later went on to dominate the final table and win the tournament.

RY: Tell me about the satellite and tournament at Bellagio.

DG: When I came to work on Friday at Bellagio, I was still excited from winning the tournament at the Mirage on Wednesday night. So, I decided to play a satellite for the Friday night no-limit hold'em tournament. Two key hands I played were both A-4 suited (hearts). Both times, a player went all in with A-K, and both times, I called from the big blind and won. The first time, I hit a 4 on the flop, and the second time, I made a wheel (A-2-3-4-5) on the turn. That second A-4 won the satellite for me. I then made it to the final two in the tournament and made a deal with the other player. I was incredibly excited about having this great tournament week.

I am proud to have Dennis as a friend. I have known him since 1999, and he is a pleasure to be around in the poker room. He really enjoys playing poker, and he loves to gamble. He is becoming a good poker tournament player, and he may be one of the best poker players to come from Greece.

I would like to add something concerning the new type of satellite that is now being played at Bellagio for the $540 no-limit hold'em tournament at 5 p.m. every Friday. These satellites now pay two winners instead of one. It costs $130 to play a satellite, and two $540 seats are awarded, along with $30 in cash to each of the winners. Players receive $1,500 in chips to start, and the blinds start at $25-$50. The players seem to love this new type of satellite, because no one is requesting the old one-winner type of satellite anymore.

Good luck at your next tournament.