Thomas Preston

This article is about the poker player; for other persons of the same name, see Thomas Preston (disambiguation) .

Thomas Preston
Thomas Preston (1974)
Personal information
Date of birth	December 31, 1928
place of birth	Johnson
date of death	April 29, 2012
Place of death	Amarillo
Nickname	Amarillo Slim
Live Poker Tournament Achievements
Highest prize money	$ 142,000
Total prize money	$ 587,567
World Series of Poker
Bracelets	4th
Cashes	12
Best main event	Win ( 1972 )

Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston, Jr. (born December 31, 1928 in Johnson , Arkansas , † April 29, 2012 in Amarillo , Texas ) was a professional American poker player . He won the main event of the World Series of Poker in 1972 and secured a total of four bracelets in this tournament series. As part of the 50th edition of the World Series of Poker , Preston was named as one of the 50 best players in poker history in June 2019 .

Poker career

Career

Before becoming a well-known poker player and his face famous, Preston was a player who roamed the United States with Doyle Brunson and Brian Roberts .

Preston won the main tournament of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas in 1972 . After his victory, he appeared on various talk shows and starred in the film California Split by Robert Altman , which made him famous outside of the poker scene. He has appeared eleven times on The Tonight Show, as well as Good Morning America , 60 Minutes , The Tomorrow Show , Panorama , Georgia Today and AM Los Angeles .

At the 2007 WSOP , after a five-year hiatus, he finished another tournament in the prize ranks. Preston won a total of four bracelets at the WSOP, including two in the Pot Limit Omaha variant . He won almost 600,000 US dollars in poker tournaments. In 1992 Preston was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame .

Bracelets

year	Buy-in (in $ )	competition	Attendees	Prize money (in $)
1972	10,000	No Limit Hold'em (Main Event)	08th	080,000
1974	0.1000	No Limit Hold'em	21st	011,100
1985	0.5000	Pot Limit Omaha	22nd	085,000
1990	0.5000	Pot Limit Omaha	71	142,000

Private

In May 2003 Preston published his autobiography Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People ( German Amarillo Slim in a world full of fat people) , in which he tells some stories about poker games with Larry Flynt , Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon and others. In July 2003, it was reported that he made an anti-Semitic comment about comedian Joey Bishop during a radio show .

In August 2003 Preston was charged with having committed three indecency offenses against a twelve year old child (his granddaughter) . The charges were reduced to trespassing attacks (original: misdemeanor assault ) after a trade with the defense . On February 10, 2004, he pleaded guilty and was fined $ 4,000 and received a two-year suspended sentence.

Preston was divorced with three children and lived in Amarillo , Texas .

Works

• Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People. The memoirs of the greatest gambler who ever lived . Harper, New York 2003, ISBN 978-0-06054-235-1 .
• Amarillo Slim's play poker to win. Million dollar strategies from the legendary world series of poker winner . HarperCollins, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-06081-755-8 (new edition of the edition "Play poker to win", New York 1973; together with Bill G. Cox).

Web links

Commons : Thomas Preston  - Collection of Images

• Thomas Preston in the Hendon Mob Poker Database (English)
• Thomas Preston in the database of the World Series of Poker (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ WSOP Reveals List of 50 Greatest Players in Poker History , pokernews.com, accessed August 4, 2019.
2. ↑ Thomas Preston in the Hendon Mob Poker Database, accessed February 24, 2020.
3. ↑ On-Air Slur Turns Poker Face Red ( Memento from February 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) on pokermag.com, accessed on February 24, 2020 (English)
4. ↑ Indictment might silence bluster of famed hustler Amarillo Slim ( Memento from July 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) on reviewjournal.com, accessed on February 24, 2020 (English).