Amarillo Slim

  • Name: Thomas Austin Preston Jr.

  • Nickname: Amarillo Slim

  • Current Residence: Amarillo, Texas, USA

  • DOB: December 31st, 1928

  • Birth Place: Johnson, Arkansas, USA

  • WSOP Bracelets: 4

  • Total Winnings: $586,358 (March 2010)

  • Marital Status: Divorced

  • Children: 3

Who is Thomas Preston Jr.?

Amarillo Slim is one of the legends of poker, an original "road gambler" and a larger-than-life personality who did a great favor to poker popularizing the game in the 1970's.
Thomas Austin Preston was born in Arkansas, where he lived until he was 11 years old. When his parents divorced he moved to Amarillo, Texas with his dad. As a student he was brilliant, did particularly well in mathematics. He enrolled in the US Navy and when he was discharged he had made $100,000 gambling there.

At the beginning he used to gamble at pool tables, when he was in the military he used to put up pool shows to entertain the soldiers. He went to many army bases and made a fortune gambling and selling black market goods. When he went back to the US, he met his wife Helen. He travelled the US to gamble at pool halls until one day he landed at a poker game where he met Doyle Brunson and Sailor Roberts. With them, Amarillo travelled the Southern States and joined them in illegal poker games and bookmaking.

As his family began to grow, Amarillo Slim realised that he could not keep travelling to play pool so he settled down and gambled only at poker tables. He took his first WSOP bracelet in 1972. He is a risky player and made a lot of money and a career in poker.  He also made a career as a writer, writing many poker books, and attended some talk shows like The Tonight Show and Good Morning America. His numerous appearances in these shows contributed immensely to the growth of poker in America.

Currently, he is not seen at many live games because some legal accusations against him took down his popularity in the poker world.

Where does the nickname ‘Amarillo Slim' come from?

Thomas Preston gained his nickname when he became friends with Minnesota Fats, a legendary pool player, in 1945. When they were seen together people started calling him Slim and to match his friend, he was named Amarillo Slim, adding the name of the place where he came from.

Public Perception and Reputation

He is definitely one of the all-times greatest players. He is cocky and proclaimed himself "the greatest gambler who ever lived". This certainly created some rivalries and he was disliked by some players on the circuit.

Amarillo was also famous for his legendary and often crazy side bets with other gamblers. For instance, once he made a bet that he can swing a golf ball a mile away. He did so - on a frozen lake where the ball travelled easily over a mile on the ice! Other time he made a bet that he can beat a Korean table tennis champion provided that he gets to pick the paddles. Amarillo arrived to the game with two frying pans and beat the champion easily (naturally he had been practising table tennis with frying pans for weeks). These bets also show that there was a method to Amarillo's "madness": he often made bets that sounded totally crazy to his opponents, but in truth he could not lose them.

However, his reputation took a harsh fall when he was accused of three counts of child molestation a few years ago. To other players on the circuit this was disgusting and Amarillo's reputation took a big dive. Amarillo denies the accusations; you can read his side of the story here (part 1) and here (part 2).

Poker Techniques

Amarillo was a fierce player, who was never afraid to gamble.  His relied heavily on his verbal skills, putting his opponents on edge with his banter and getting them to give their game away. He is definitely skilled, and shares a place in the history of poker with other veterans like Doyle Brunson.

In fact, his old partner Doyle has stated that Amarillo was greatly underestimated as a player and that he (Doyle) learned a lot from him.

Media Exposure

  • Amarillo Slim's Personal Website
  • His autobiography is out under the name of: ‘Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People'
  • A Hollywood film about Amarillo Slim's life starring Nicholas Cage in the title role is currently in production.