Quick answer: Amarillo Slim, born Thomas Austin Preston Jr., was a four-time WSOP bracelet winner and one of poker’s first great showmen — the player who arguably did more than anyone to sell poker to a mainstream American audience, decades before the sport’s televised boom. He passed away in April 2012 at age 83.
What a Poker Player Can Learn From Amarillo Slim
Slim’s game leaned heavily on reading people and manufacturing pressure through table talk and personality, rather than pure mathematical precision — a reminder that psychological play and information-gathering through conversation remain a real edge, even in an era where solvers dominate strategic discussion. That instinct for pressure is the same idea behind fold equity: making opponents uncomfortable enough to fold is often more valuable than simply holding the best hand.
He was also, notably, a stronger Pot-Limit Omaha player than his Texas Hold’em reputation suggests: two of his four bracelets came in PLO, a detail that’s easy to miss under his cowboy-hustler image but worth remembering — specializing in a less crowded format, the same way players today weigh which format to focus on, can be more profitable than competing in the most popular game at the table.
He also understood something that still matters for anyone serious about the game today: building a recognizable identity and reputation has real value at the table, not just off it. Opponents who think they know what you’re going to do — and are wrong — are opponents you have an edge against.
From Texas Road Gambler to Poker’s First Salesman
Preston was born in Johnson, Arkansas, on December 31, 1928. His family moved to Turkey, Texas while he was an infant; after his parents divorced, his father relocated to Amarillo, giving Slim the nickname that stuck for life. Alongside fellow road gamblers Doyle Brunson and “Sailor” Roberts, Slim spent years touring Texas and the American South and Midwest hunting for underground games — the trio that eventually helped bring Texas Hold’em out of backroom games and into Las Vegas casinos in the 1960s.
He was one of the original participants in the first WSOP in 1970, and won the WSOP Main Event in 1972, becoming poker’s first genuine mainstream celebrity in the process — appearing on The Tonight Show eleven times, along with Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, and other national television.
Career Highlights
- 4 WSOP bracelets: the 1972 Main Event, the 1974 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, and Pot-Limit Omaha bracelets in 1985 and 1990.
- Runner-up in 2000 to a 23-year-old Phil Ivey in a Pot-Limit Omaha event — Ivey’s first WSOP bracelet.
- Founder of the Super Bowl of Poker, an annual tournament series he ran from 1979 to 1991, considered one of the most prestigious events outside the WSOP at the time.
- Inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.
- Career live tournament earnings of roughly $560,000, a figure that understates his actual gambling income given decades of untracked cash games and proposition bets.
Legal Case and Later Life
In August 2003, Preston was indicted in Randall County, Texas, on charges of indecency with a child involving his 12-year-old granddaughter. The felony charges were later dropped, and Preston entered a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor non-sexual assault charge, paying a fine with no jail time. The case significantly affected his public standing within the poker community during the years that followed, coinciding with the sport’s mainstream boom after Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 WSOP win — a period in which many of Slim’s peers, including Brunson, capitalized on new sponsorship and media opportunities that largely passed Slim by.
Legacy
Preston passed away on April 29, 2012, in hospice care in Amarillo, Texas, following a battle with colon cancer. His 2003 autobiography, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, remains a widely referenced account of his life, prop bets, and decades on the road. Despite the complications of his later years, his role in popularizing Texas Hold’em and bringing poker into mainstream American culture — alongside contemporaries like Brunson — remains a significant, well-documented part of the game’s history.
Amarillo Slim FAQ
How many WSOP bracelets did Amarillo Slim win?
Four: the 1972 Main Event, a 1974 No-Limit Hold’em event, and two Pot-Limit Omaha events in 1985 and 1990.
Is Amarillo Slim still alive?
No. He passed away on April 29, 2012, at age 83.
What game was Amarillo Slim actually strongest at?
Despite his Hold’em-focused public image, two of his four bracelets and his two largest career cashes came in Pot-Limit Omaha.
