Michael Greco
Encyclopedia
Michael Greco is an English
actor
and poker
player. He was educated in Surrey
, England at Reigate College
. Internet rumours claim he was born in Dunbar, Scotland, but Greco himself states that this is false, and that he grew up in London.
.
in the British
soap opera
, EastEnders
from 1998-2002.
opposite another ex-EastEnder Jake Maskall
.
as the villain "Abanazar" at Poole's Lighthouse Theatre
during the Christmas and New Year Season (2007).
in January 2006, and played in the Rest of the World team versus England in the Soccer Aid
match in 2006.
Greco was the voice over person in the TV documentary show America's Hardest Bounty Hunters showing on the pay TV (FOXTEL) Crime and Investigation channel (Australia).
). He started off playing ring game
s, but now concentrates on poker tournament
s. He has commented that his skills as a trained actor have allowed him to give off false tells
that he learn from Mike Caro
's Book of Tells.
He went on to appear in the 2005 Poker Million
, World Speed Poker Open
and Monte Carlo Millions
as well as for Team Italy in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
.
Greco made the Grand Final of the 2006 Showbiz Poker event. He finished 2nd when his made two pair on the K♠ flop, but the 10♣ that followed allowed Norman Pace
to complete his straight from his J♣ hole cards. He had also finished 2nd to Pace in the semi-final round and in the celebrity heat of the PartyPoker.com World Open
.
In 2005 he appeared on the chatshow Heads Up with Richard Herring
to discuss his life, career and his love of poker.
Greco's flatmate, actress Chloe Bale also plays poker and appeared in the 888.com Women's Poker UK Open.
Greco walked away with £100,000 following the climax of the third round of the Grosvenor Poker Tour at the Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay, during the early hours.
European Poker Tour
Cashes
Season 2 - Dublin - €4000 buy in - 7th Place(from 248 players) - winning €39,800
World Series of Poker
Cashes
2007 - $2,000 buy in No-Limit Hold'em - 30th Place - winning $14,350
2008 - $2,000 buy in Pot-Limit Hold'em - 9th Place - winning $22,972
2009 - $1,500 buy in No-Limit Hold'em - 3rd Place - winning $248,555
2009 Main Event - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em - 170th Place (from 6496 players) - winning $36,626
His total live tournament winnings exceed $680,000.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player. He was educated in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England at Reigate College
Reigate College
Reigate College is a state sixth form college in Reigate, Surrey, for students over 16 years of age. The College is situated very near to both the town centre and the train station...
. Internet rumours claim he was born in Dunbar, Scotland, but Greco himself states that this is false, and that he grew up in London.
Acting career
Greco's first role as a performer was as a student the University of Staffordshire; where he co-founded a Kiss tribute band called kissed. Although this wasn't a successful venture it helped him gain a place at RADARada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
.
Television
Greco is best known his role as Beppe di MarcoBeppe di Marco
Beppe di Marco is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michael Greco.Beppe was his family's pride and joy, so it was a big shock to them when he was fired from the police force for attempting to frame local hardman Grant Mitchell...
in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
from 1998-2002.
Film
In summer 2006 he finished filming the leading role in the independent feature film Naked in LondonNaked in london
Moving Target is a British thriller, from director Mark Tierney. The film was formerly known as Naked in London.Set on the hottest day of the year in London it follows the character Steve Lynch in an afternoon full of explosive situations.- Plot :...
opposite another ex-EastEnder Jake Maskall
Jake Maskall
Jake Maskall is an English television, film and theatre actor.-Career:Jake's most notable role came in the BBC television soap opera EastEnders where he played ladies' man and bad boy Danny Moon. His character first appeared on 30 December 2004 and was driven out of the show by gangster Johnny...
.
Theatre
Greco starred in a modernised, pop musical version of AladdinAladdin (musical)
Aladdin, is a musical/pantomime written by Sandy Wilson for the inaugural Christmas Pantomime at the newly refurbished Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith...
as the villain "Abanazar" at Poole's Lighthouse Theatre
The Lighthouse (Poole)
The Lighthouse is an arts centre in Poole, Dorset, England. According to the Arts council of England it is the largest arts centre in the United Kingdom outside London....
during the Christmas and New Year Season (2007).
Other television work
Greco appeared in Celebrity Love Island in 2005. He was a contestant on ITV's Soapstar SuperstarSoapstar Superstar
Soapstar Superstar was a reality singing competition produced by Granada Television which first aired on British television station ITV in 2006. In the competition, ten soap opera actors perform in front of a celebrity panel, which included Cilla Black, Billy Sammeth and Chris Cowey...
in January 2006, and played in the Rest of the World team versus England in the Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...
match in 2006.
Greco was the voice over person in the TV documentary show America's Hardest Bounty Hunters showing on the pay TV (FOXTEL) Crime and Investigation channel (Australia).
Poker
Greco is also a keen poker player (he was mentored by "Mad" Marty WilsonMarty Wilson
Marty Wilson is an English professional poker player from Wolverhampton. His nickname originates from when, as a teenager, he escaped several rival football fans by jumping into a polar bear pit....
). He started off playing ring game
Ring game
Ring game may refer to:*Ring game , a general class of multi-player pocket billiards gambling games*Ring game, a.k.a. cash game, a poker game played with "real" chips and each player's own money at stake, as opposed to a poker tournament with a prize money pool...
s, but now concentrates on poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s. He has commented that his skills as a trained actor have allowed him to give off false tells
Tell (poker)
A tell in poker is a change in a player's behavior or demeanor that is claimed by some to give clues to that player's assessment of their hand. A player gains an advantage if they observe and understand the meaning of another player's tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable...
that he learn from Mike Caro
Mike Caro
Mike A. Caro is a professional poker player, pioneer poker theorist, author of poker books, and casino executive.-Author:...
's Book of Tells.
He went on to appear in the 2005 Poker Million
Poker Million
The Poker Million has been a televised European poker tournament since its inception in November 2000. The final debuted to 30 million viewers and has since remained popular. It was created by UK gaming outfit Ladbrokes with the help of sports promotion firm Matchroom Sport...
, World Speed Poker Open
World Speed Poker Open
The World Speed Poker Open was an international poker tournament held under speed poker rules.-Format:The tournament had a £2,000 entry fee....
and Monte Carlo Millions
Monte Carlo Millions
The Monte Carlo Millions was the first ever poker tournament to be staged in the city-state of Monaco. The inaugural event was completed on 12 November 2004. Apparently birthed out of the preceding explosion of Texas Hold 'em popularity, it was conceived of and sponsored by Prima Poker. The field...
as well as for Team Italy in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
The PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup is a televised poker tournament, airing in the United Kingdom on Five from April 2006 onwards, in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.- Format :...
.
Greco made the Grand Final of the 2006 Showbiz Poker event. He finished 2nd when his made two pair on the K♠ flop, but the 10♣ that followed allowed Norman Pace
Norman Pace
Norman Pace is an English actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale...
to complete his straight from his J♣ hole cards. He had also finished 2nd to Pace in the semi-final round and in the celebrity heat of the PartyPoker.com World Open
PartyGaming
bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc is an online gambling company, formed by the March 2011 merger of PartyGaming plc and bwin. The world's largest publicly traded online gambling firm, it is best known for its online poker room PartyPoker.com and its sports betting brand Bwin. It is...
.
In 2005 he appeared on the chatshow Heads Up with Richard Herring
Heads Up with Richard Herring
Heads Up with Richard Herring or HUWRH, was a British celebrity chat show written by and starring Richard Herring, who is best known as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring, the stars of BBC Two shows Fist of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy...
to discuss his life, career and his love of poker.
Greco's flatmate, actress Chloe Bale also plays poker and appeared in the 888.com Women's Poker UK Open.
Greco walked away with £100,000 following the climax of the third round of the Grosvenor Poker Tour at the Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay, during the early hours.
European Poker Tour
European Poker Tour
The Pokerstars European Poker Tour is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour , created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold 'em popularity...
Cashes
Season 2 - Dublin - €4000 buy in - 7th Place(from 248 players) - winning €39,800
World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
Cashes
2007 - $2,000 buy in No-Limit Hold'em - 30th Place - winning $14,350
2008 - $2,000 buy in Pot-Limit Hold'em - 9th Place - winning $22,972
2009 - $1,500 buy in No-Limit Hold'em - 3rd Place - winning $248,555
2009 Main Event - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em - 170th Place (from 6496 players) - winning $36,626
His total live tournament winnings exceed $680,000.
Trivia
- Greco shares the same name as the man who is now in charge of entertainment at the Palms Casino Resort in Las VegasLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
- In the late 1990s, Greco had a 15-month relationship with topless model Linsey Dawn McKenzieLinsey Dawn McKenzieLinsey Dawn McKenzie is an English glamour model, pornographic actress, and minor celebrity.McKenzie made her topless modelling debut in The Sunday Sport tabloid newspaper on her 16th birthday in 1994...
, to whom he was briefly engaged. McKenzie twice became pregnant over the course of their relationship, but miscarried both times. - Greco is also a massive ChelseaChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
football supporter. - Greco played a DJ set in Jimmy's Harrogate, an evening enjoyed by many revelers. His set was compared by a B Morrow, of the same town.