Famous Poker players

Amarillo Slim

Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jr. was born on December 31, 1928 in Johnson, Arkansas. He is a professional gambler, famous for his poker skills and proposition bets.

He won the main event at the World Series of Poker in 1972. Following his victory he went on several talk shows, and even had a bit part in the movie California Split, making him moderately famous outside the poker world.

As of 2006 Preston has a total of 4 WSOP bracelets including two in Omaha and has won over $500,000 in tournament play. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.

Preston had a minor role in the Robert Altman film California Split, where he played a regular in a $40/$80 razz game in Reno, Nevada.

Preston is often quoted as saying that if a woman ever won the WSOP, he'd slit his throat, but the true story is quite different. During some of the early WSOP events an unpopular woman player got an early chip lead and declared that she was going to be the winner in front of the media. When she asked Preston what he thought of it, he told her that if she won he would slit his throat. She ultimately did not win.

Preston has also helped establish gaming facilities around the world. While he was helping open the Casino de Caribe in Colombia he was kidnapped by people working for Pablo Escobar, who mistook him for another person, but was eventually released.

In August 2003 Preston was indicted on three charges of indecency with a 12-year-old child (his granddaughter). The charges were reduced to misdemeanor assault in a plea bargain and on February 10, 2004 he pleaded guilty to the reduced charges, receiving a $4,000 fine and two years deferred adjudication.