Amarillo Slim

Rumor has it that the young Texan born Thomas Preston created his own nickname, because he loved the town of Amarillo so much, and that he was indeed remarkably slim, and remains so to this day. He even called his autobiography 'Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People.'

Like so many Texas poker playing characters of the forties and fifties Slim lived on his wits and use the skills that he had picked up the parlors and pool halls of Amarillo in the forties. He spent more time shooting pool than playing poker, and he was fortunate to be gifted at playing both. Legend has it that in his thirties, Slim won five Cadillacs in the space of one week, in casino sponsored pool tournaments. Slim would always tell anyone that listened that playing pool was his hobby, and he played poker for a living.

Slim, who always in search for action, heard about the Dallas poker scene and move there to be part of it. There he hooked up with some of the characters who would make a tremendous mark on the history of Texas Hold'em poker, Benny Binion, Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson among them. When things became a little too hot in Dallas, Slim and other members of the Dallas crew took to the road. They played the bars and saloons of the Mid-West for years, looking to educate the locals on how to play poker. The Dallas crew eventually made it to Las Vegas, where Benny Binion, had opened his highly popular Horseshoe Casino. Slim and his friends became residents of the Horseshoe where they held certain notoriety.

Eventually Amarillo Slim became a cult figure in the world of poker, due to his glamorous image and certain notoriety.

Thanks to his personality, imaginative mind and quick sense of humor, Slim even became the darling of the televised talk show circuit of the nineteen seventies and eighties. For a non conventional entertainer, Slim was widely appreciated by all the talk show hosts of that time and none more so than the legendary Johnny Carson. Slim appeared on Johnny's show no less than eleven times.

Amarillo Slim Preston has earned has place as a member of the poker Hall of Fame, as well as several other lifetime awards in the game. Despite the fact that he earned his stripes the hard way, slim has always represented the interests of the game of poker with honour. He became a legend in his own lifetime, and is regarded as being one of the father figures of Texas Hold'em poker.