A WORCESTER fish and chip shop owner will once again swap his fried chips for poker chips in the semi-final of a gambling competition.

And he says that his luck, so far, has all been down to his mascot - a soft toy dog called Pepe.

Peter Djiallis, who runs Pete's Plaice, off Broadway Grove, St John's, made it through to the penultimate stage of Channel 5's Party Poker European Open after playing winning hands in the qualifying round.

Now, he believes his toy pooch will bring him the luck to qualify for the final and take the first prize of $125,000 - about £72,000.

Mr Djiallis, who has been playing the game for 22 years, said: "It's down to the cards you get. In the qualifying round I suppose I had the turn of the cards to get me through to the semi-finals. If you don't get the cards then it doesn't matter how good you are."

Over the past few years Mr Djiallis has won a number of poker tournaments.

Around two years ago he won £10,000 and last year he won £6,000.

He has also won a number of smaller cash prizes in tournaments around the Midlands and rest of the UK.

The qualifying round aired on Wednesday, February 15, and the semi-final, to be played at Leyton Orient FC's stadium in east London and is due to be broadcast on Wednesday, March 22.