Poker Player Dies On The Way To 2010 WSOP
Paul Kitsos, the poker player known best for reaching the final table of the 2008 Borgata Summer Poker Open Main Event, died in an airplane over the New York skies on his way to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in the 2010 World Series of Poker.
According to a story reported in the newspaper the New York Post, twenty minutes after taking off on a United Air jet from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Kitsos (known fondly in the poker community as “Smalls”) was “sweating profusely and breathing heavily”. Kitsos had reportedly hit the button on his seat to call the flight attendant, but sadly, even though the plane had turned around as soon as the crew was alerted to the problem, by the time the plane landed back at JFK, Kitsos was already dead. Kitsos had $11,000 cash on his person, along with prescription ulcer and heart medicine.
Kitsos’ poker career started in 2001 when he finished in 5th place at the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship at Caesars Palace, winning almost $100,000 for his efforts. Kitsos also successfully cashed in at the ‘06 and ‘08 WSOP Main Event.
Kitsos is survived by his wife, Stella Spanakos and his autistic 18-year-old son Nicholas. His wife told the New York Post that her husband first got into Texas Hold’em poker along with so much of America following 9/11. She says his poker passion even bordered on addiction and that he had devoured “a bazzillion” poker books in his aims to master the game.
