Amarillo Slim
| Amarillo Slim Preston | |
|---|---|
Amarillo Slim at the 1974 WSOP.
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| Nickname(s) | Amarillo Slim |
| Residence | Amarillo, Texas |
| Born | Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. December 31, 1928 Johnson, Arkansas |
| Died | April 29, 2012 (aged 83) Amarillo, Texas |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 4 |
| Money finish(es) | 11 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish |
Winner, 1972 |
Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. (December 31, 1928 – April 29, 2012), known as Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.
Before becoming a well-known tournament player, Preston was a rounder, touring the United States looking for gambling action along with Doyle Brunson and Sailor Roberts.
Following his WSOP victory, he appeared on several talk shows, including The Tonight Show, and had a small part in the 1974 Robert Altman movie California Split. He appeared on I've Got a Secret, where his secret involved losing $190,000 in one night of poker.
Preston won four WSOP bracelets including two in Omaha. Preston's final WSOP win was in 1990. In the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event at the 2000 WSOP, he came in second to Phil Ivey.
In January/February 1980, Amarillo Slim hosted the Second Annual Poker Classic, which was the second-most prestigious poker tournament of its time. This series eventually came to be called the Super Bowl of Poker and continued until 1991. Gabe Kaplan became the first winner of this tournament series and Stu Ungar won the title three times.
Preston's lifetime tournament earnings totaled more than $587,000.
In 1973, Preston and Bill G. Cox wrote Play Poker to Win which was published by Grosset and Dunlap. A revised edition was published by HarperCollins in 2005 entitled Amarillo Slim's Play Poker to Win.
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