Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells is owned by the Laskaris family. Nick Laskaris serves as president and CEO, his wife Eva shares executive responsibilities, and Nick’s sister Penelope and her husband Nicholaos Rokanas also hold ownership stakes in the park.1rcdb. Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park It remains a private family enterprise with no outside corporate investors or public shareholders, which gives the family direct control over reinvestment and the pace of expansion.
The Family Behind the Park
Nick and Eva are the most publicly visible figures in the business and run day-to-day operations alongside long-term planning. Penelope, the daughter of founder Jim Laskaris, holds her stake with her husband Nicholaos Rokanas.1rcdb. Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park Because the ownership stays inside the family, decisions about buying neighboring properties, adding rides, or rebranding sites happen without the pressure of outside shareholders expecting dividends.
How the Laskaris Family Came to Own It
The business traces back to Demetrios “Jim” Laskaris, born in Katsaros, Greece, who immigrated to the United States at 13. After a technical degree in Michigan and four years in the U.S. Navy, Jim ran restaurants in Chicago before moving the family to Wisconsin Dells in 1970. He and his wife Fotoula opened a hot dog stand called “Big Chief,” named after a statue they bought at a trade show.2Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Mt. Olympus History
The hot dog stand flopped. The family nearly packed up for Chicago until Fotoula found savings stashed in a sewing machine drawer, which they used to open their first go-kart track, Goofy Karts. That small bet turned profitable, and the family kept adding tracks and attractions. In 1995 they built their first roller coaster, Cyclops, and rebranded as Big Chief Karts & Coasters.2Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Mt. Olympus History
Jim Laskaris died in 2003, and Nick took over leadership of the family business.1rcdb. Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park
The Mattei Partnership and the 2007 Buyout
In 2004, the Laskaris family partnered with the Mattei family, who owned the neighboring Treasure Island Resort and its indoor and outdoor water parks. The two families merged their properties and rebranded under a Greek theme, creating Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park.2Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Mt. Olympus History
The partnership gave the combined operation both a theme park and a water park under one name, but it was a stepping stone. In 2007, Nick and Eva bought out the Mattei family’s share entirely, taking full control of Treasure Island along with its 356 rooms and vacation units.2Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Mt. Olympus History That buyout gave the Laskaris family sole ownership of the combined resort.
What the Family Owns in the Dells Today
The same year they bought out the Matteis, Nick and Eva acquired five neighboring properties alongside Treasure Island: Captain’s Quarters, Pleasant View Motel, Bay of Dreams Indoor Waterpark, and the former Family Land outdoor waterpark grounds. Each was folded into the Mt. Olympus brand. That consolidation strategy, buying up independent motels and small parks along the Wisconsin Dells strip and bundling room stays with free park access, has defined the business for nearly two decades.
Today the resort complex includes more than 700 lodging rooms across roughly 20 sites surrounding the theme parks and along the main Dells corridor. The Laskaris family controls one of the largest privately held hospitality land portfolios in the region, which means a significant share of overnight visitors to Wisconsin Dells are sleeping in a family-owned property.
The park itself operates indoor and outdoor water parks alongside an outdoor theme park with multiple roller coasters, go-kart tracks, and other rides, with the Greek mythology theme running through the branding and architecture. The headline ride is Hades 360, billed as the world’s first upside-down wooden roller coaster.3Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park. Hades 360 Rollercoaster The Laskaris family’s approach has consistently been to reinvest profits into new attractions rather than pay outside investors, and that approach is what turned a failed hot dog stand into a destination resort still held by one family.