Peter Vilandos
Panayote ‘Peter the Greek’ Vilandos arrived in the U.S. at the age of 27 and studied successfully for a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Houston, Texas. After many years of playing poker for fun while in business, he decided to join the circuit, and it’s safe to say that he’s not looked back. He clearly has a good head when it comes to money, and it must have been obvious that poker could be his most lucrative venture. He’s now played professionally for over 20 years, and has accumulated $1.3K in winnings from the WSOP over 17 cashes. He’s famous in the game as one of the older generation of well-established players with skills and a personality to match.
Peter Vilandos
The first prized WSOP bracelet for Peter ‘The Greek’ Vilandos came at his eighth final table, in 1995, when he beat a field of 264 players to win a $1.5K Pot Limit Hold’Em to take home $148.5K as well as the gold. His second bracelet win came more recently, when he triumphed in the $1.5K No Limit Hold’Em in 2009, winning an impressive $607,256 as well as the coveted jewelry. In all he’s won over $1.4Million at the WSOP in 17 cashes, and his live tournament winnings total over $2Million overall. At 69 he shows no sign of retiring from the game.
Vilandos has been known to refer to himself as ‘old’ but it must be assumed that he has a healthy appreciation of the skills that experience brings to the table. He regularly goes heads-up with players who are much younger, especially since poker came to the attention of a much wider audience through its increased popularity over the Internet. He still lives in Houston, and as a true veteran of the American circuit he consistently outlasts younger players to emerge victorious. A player with character, observers and lovers of poker hope that Peter the Greek will continue to appear at the final tables for years to come.
