2014 November Niner Billy Pappas Bio and Poker Profile

‘I’m definitely top three, probably number two’, says multiple world champion @William Pappaconstantinou. But Billy Pappas, as he is better known, is referring to table football, not the poker tables.The most decorated 2014 November Niner is in fact the only true poker amateur among them and earned his titles and reputation with his nearly 18 years as a foosball pro.

Billy Pappas was born on September 28, 1984 and is a proud native of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Foosball is the family sport and everyone plays, but the real passionate is his mom, Nancy, and she was the one who got him smitten with the love (and talent) for the game.

'My parents played, my mom still plays. It’s a cool connection, me and my mom are super close.'

Billy started playing competitively when he was 7 and professionally, when he was 12. Since then, he has travelled and competed all over the world (even spent a few years in Hungary), and today is one of the game’s best-liked, recognized, and admired champions.

‘Foosers’ are extremely proud with the achievement of one of their own and happy with the revival of interest in their game that has come with Billy’s poker celebrity, as evidenced by this inspired post from a table football legend, Johnny Lott Rafols:

 You sir just changed the very *definition (4 below) of that for us Foosers. Proud doesn't begin to cover it. So as one of the sports old school "leaders" that thought it had seen it's better days, let me say I for one will do my best to take this amazing opportunity you have given our Great Sport and let it re-invigorate my interest and my passion and work to get the most out of this breath of fresh air you have given us!

As for poker, ‘it’s been a struggle’, Billy says. From a very early age it was a favorite pastime with the boys - his Lowell and foosball buddies. The nearest he has come to a professional involvement has been his part-time job as a poker dealer at Rockingham Park Poker Room in Salem, New Hampshire, a couple of small tournament cashes, and the shared dream of all poker lovers - playing the Main Event in the World Series of Poker.

Billy Pappas has been wanting to do it for the past 10 years but never got the chance until 2014 when a foosball friend generously offered to back him. Still, he only booked his room for a short stay and was preparing for an early bust and a flight to Austria for a foosball tournament.

'I'm in shock. I never thought I'd play in this event. It's been my dream, and I've been saying 'this year' or 'next year' for like 10 years, just to play in an event, period. Now I get to play this, and I've never expected this at all.'

As it happened, he had to extend his stay one day at a time all the way to Day 7 when he made the dream come true and became one of the 2014 November Nine.

'The last couple of years I was thinking I wanted to be a poker player and now that I have the money to do it I'm pretty scared about it. I don't want to lose it all.'

He doesn't want to 'lose it all' so went ahead and won some more recognition for himself, just in case. A few days after making the biggest final table in poker, Billy Pappas flew to Germany where he won another world championship title! We'll just have to wait and see if he will be a champ of two worlds in November!

#RKHbio #NovemberNine 

Sources,  videos, interviews:

Photos from Billy Pappas Facebook and Twitter account

http://www.rankinghero.com/william.pappaconstantinou

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_table_football_champions

Maxim.com: Can a Foosball Champion Win the World Series of Poker?

lowellsun.com: Billy Pappas: An unknown scaling poker's highest peak

PokerNews.com: http://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/william-pappaconstantinou/