Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. (born December 31, 1928 in Johnson, Arkansas), known as
Amarillo Slim, is an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. Preston won the main event at the 1972
World Series of Poker and was inducted into the
Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.
Before becoming a well-known tournament player, Preston was a rounder, touring the United States looking for gambling action along with
Doyle Brunson and
Sailor Roberts.
Following his WSOP victory he appeared on several talk shows, including
The Tonight Show, and had a bit part in the 1974
Robert Altman movie
California Split. He appeared on
I've Got a Secret, where his secret involved losing $190,000 in one night of poker.
As of 2008, Preston had a total of four WSOP bracelets including two in Omaha. Preston's most recent WSOP win was in 1990. Preston's biggest tournament play win is $590,000.
In January/February 1980 Amarillo Slim hosted the
Second Annual Poker Classic which was the second most prestigious poker tournament in its time. This series eventually came to be called the
Super Bowl of Poker and continued until 1991.
Gabe Kaplan became the first winner of this tournament series and
Stu Ungar won the title three times.
In 1973, Preston and
Bill G. Cox wrote
Play Poker to Win which was published by
Grosset and Dunlap. A revised edition was published by
HarperCollins in 2005 entitled
Amarillo Slim's Play Poker to Win.In May 2003, Preston published his autobiography Amarillo Slim in a
World Full of Fat People, where he wrote of playing poker with
Larry Flynt, Lyndon Johnson, and
Richard Nixon and others. In addition to his poker exploits, Preston writes of his exploits in proposition betting.
In April 2007, Preston created a website and released an E-Book called
All In: An E-guide To No Limit Texas Hold'em. The book was written by Amarillo Slim Preston and
Brent Riley.Preston is divorced, has three children, and currently resides in Amarillo, Texas. Preston was the best friend of casino
owner
Benny Binion and when Binion died in 1989, he left his horse to Preston.
In August 2003, Preston was indicted in
Randal County, Texas on charges of indecency with a 12-year-old child. The charges were reduced to misdemeanor assault in a plea bargain and on February 10, 2004, Preston plead "no contest" to the reduced charges, "to protect his family". Preston received a $4,000 fine, two years probation and was ordered to undergo counseling. Early on the morning of October 4, 2006, Preston was the victim of an attempted armed robbery. The armed robber fired three bullets into Preston's car as he sped away. Preston was not injured. On January 28, 2007, Preston was robbed at gunpoint while in his home. n January 22, 2009, Preston was beaten and robbed near the intersection of Interstate
40 and Soncy Road while attempting to collect a gambling debt.
Biographies 
