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Ok, ok, that's enough teasing. I will now tell you the long-awaited Amarillo Slim story.
For those of you who don't know who Slim is, here is the brief 411. He is one of the legendary pioneers of the modern poker world, a participant in the very first World Series of Poker and the winner of the third. Slim is also commonly agreed to be the greatest proposition gambler to have ever lived. His most famous saying, quoted by Matt Damon's Mike McDermott in "Rounders" is good advice for sharks the entire world over: You can shear a sheep many times, but skin him only once." This is a man who beat Bobby Riggs at tennis after choosing skillets as rackets and, on a bet, rode a camel into a casino in Morocco. If this man EVER offers to make you a bet, I don't care how much the odds seem to be in your favor, run! You will lose and you will lose big. The stories, however, are great. I highly recommend reading Slim's memoirs, "Slim in a World of Fat People". It's incredibly entertaining stuff.
In the past few years, since poker's meteoric explosion as both participatory activity and spectator sport, Slim has been conspicuously absent. No major television appearances, no WPT final tables, no Poker Superstars Invitational. I've seen every single one of these famous folk live at some tournament or another and began to think of Slim as the Holy Grail. Sadly, the reason for his absence was not a mystery to be solved, but heart problems that landed him in the hospital for a good chunk of last year. Pacemaker in place, the guy was back in his element at this year's WSOP, making the rounds and taking pots from unsuspecting donkeys.
Poker, played straight up,
sometimes rewards the suckers.
It was day one of the Main Event that I learned of Slim's presence. I was watching my dad from the rail, and a young man standing next to me struck up a conversation. About fifty feet away from me, deep in the heart of the tournament playing area, the ESPN cameras and a crowd of players and writers seemed deeply interested in someone. I wondered aloud who they might be focused on and the young man said, "Oh, that's Amarillo Slim." My ears perked right up. "Really?" I asked. It turned out the young man came from the same part of Texas as Slim and they knew each other well. I strained my neck, but could not catch sight of the legend. Interest waned and I went back to watching my Dad.
Thirty minutes before play was to end for the night, the young man reappeared by my side. "Slim just got knocked out." Turns out he can lose races just as easily as the rest of us mortals. Slim had queens, the other fellow had ace-king and a flop, turn and river later Slim was graciously making his exit. He'd been playing this game for too long to even bat an eye. It was just another day at the office for that guy. His bread and butter comes from, let's say, creatively massaging the odds. Poker, played straight up, sometimes rewards the suckers. It's why we keep playing : )
Dad, as you know, survived the thirty minutes and would get a much needed day to recover. We woke up late, no one to see and nowhere to go. It wasn't until about 4 pm that we even got our acts together enough to venture downstairs and forage for food. Even though we mostly avoid them, the buffet seemed the simplest way to go. When we got to the front of the line, there was Slim, standing right there next to us all by his lonesome.
I ever so subtly pointed him out to my Dad, who blurted out, "Hey, are you still in it?" I sighed (one of these days I'll have to tell you about why we hope dad doesn't see famous people at the poker table) and jumped in. "Queens cracked just before the end of the night." Slim smiled at me. You could tell that he was pleased we knew who he was and that I even knew how he'd gotten knocked out of the tournament. He started chatting away. We invited him to join us and Slim readily agreed.
Slim saw an opportunity and, in
his words, "beat that boy home".
We spent the next three hours with Amarillo Slim Preston, raconteur. He told us stories I'd read in his memoirs or heard before (but obviously not right from the horse's mouth) and a few new ones as well. One of my favorites involved the recent WSOP win of one Chris Moneymaker. Slim saw an opportunity and, in his words, "beat that boy home". When Chris finished his interviews and whirlwind press tour, he returned to his home town to find Slim there waiting for him. One of the greatest heads-up players to ever shuffle a deck of cards, Slim casually asked Moneymaker if he might be interested in a game. Filled with the heady afterglow of his glorious win, Chris happily accepted. $50,000 later, Moneymaker remembered what a lucky SOB he'd been and cried uncle. I wonder if Jamie Gold has had any heads-up offers from a certain tall skinny Texan.
There were too many stories to re-tell here and it was a great lunch. Slim even taught me some keno props to spring on unsuspecting marks in the poker room. I won't give away my new secrets, but I don't recommend you take either one of us up on any keno bets. Bellies full and new tales to tell the friends, we made our way out into the casino. This guy cannot go three feet without someone coming up and asking for his autograph or picture. He's not as strong as he once was, but he didn't turn one person down.
As we were saying goodbye, Slim asked if I wanted to go with him to the Rio. Walk into the center of the poker universe with Amarillo Slim Preston? I think so. Off we went to find a cab, leaving the folks behind. We went behind the ropes at Ladbrokes, a British gaming site whose hospitality suite is off limits to American players, but nothing is off limits to Slim. They plan to fly Slim out for a promotional tournament and Slim even offered to bring me with him. I think he had a little crush :)
We went behind the ropes in the Amazon Room (the first day 2 was underway - there were two day 2s), visiting every famous player in the room: among others Phil Ivey, Humberto Brenes who had a mountain of chips in front of him, and Layne Flack, who Slim offered to try and fix me up with. Layne is a cute guy. What do you guys think?
After making the rounds and shaking the hands, Slim was spent. We returned to the Bellagio. I left Slim at the poker room, still signing autographs, still talking with old friends so all in all, not a bad story.
You know how to reach me: brittani@hollywoodpoker.com
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