Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived

From Publishers Weekly
Legendary gambler Amarillo Slim Preston, who captured the World Series of Poker in 1972 and has legitimately snookered more money out of more people than most of us make in a lifetime, steers clear of elaborating on the particulars of such games as Texas Hold 'Em in this off-the-cuff, even flighty tour through his often literally death-defying adventures. Since he's played with the likes of Evel Knievel, Willie Nelson and Minnesota Fats, it is a smooth narrative decision on Preston's part to devote his folksy charm to describing the various characters he has encountered, not the mechanics of how he always beat them (his first rule for poker success is "Play the players more than you play the cards"). He was eventually able to make a career out of gambling, sending his three children to college and leading a comfortable life on his winnings (perhaps the most revealing episode arrives late in the memoir when the nationally known gambler who charmed the now- deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar talks about his joy in coaching his children's Little League team). Like all natural-born sharps, though, Preston knows the virtue of keeping his cards close to his chest, which is a fine strategy at the poker table, but a poor narrative one. Passing phrases such as "I got into some tax trouble" are left curiously unexplained while the author's more self-aggrandizing adventures garner elaborate attention. But when an author has won $2 million from Larry Flynt, and tells the story of it so good-naturedly, readers will pardon the selective nature of his reminiscences. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Pool hustler, sports bookie, and card player Amarillo Slim is a champion of the World Series of Poker, which he also helped create. But he's probably best known for the many outrageous "proposition" bets he's won--including playing one-pocket pool with Minnesota Fats using a broom handle, golf with Evel Knievel using a carpenter's hammer, and ping-pong with Bobby Riggs using an iron skillet. Although this autobiography is a bit heavy on the braggadocio, Slim and coauthor Dinkin provide a stacked deck of amusing anecdotes guaranteed to bring a smile to the toughest poker face. As readers follow Slim from his school days in Arkansas and Texas all the way up to a near-fatal fall he took in the Idaho backcountry last year at age 74, they'll pick up a gambling education as well, learning how to hustle the suckers by guessing which sugar cube a fly will land on, or by hitting a golf ball a mile. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
If there's anything I'll argue about, I'll either bet on it or shut up. And since it's not becoming for a cowboy to be arguing, I've made a few wagers in my day. But in my humble opinion, I'm no hustler. You see, neighbor, I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a champion and make a sucker out of him." Amarillo Slim might be the greatest gambler who ever lived, but it's his down-home charm and folksy storytelling that have made him an American idol and media darling. Slim is a legend, as American as Paul Bunyan, Jesse James, and P.T. Barnum. In Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, T.A. "Amarillo Slim" Preston will tell the tall tales of his fascinating life. Slim will describe some of his greatest gambling exploits -- from winning the World Series of Poker to creating extraordinary proposition bets to running the biggest black market in Europe during the war while giving pool exhibitions (read: hustling) on military bases for Uncle Sam. Among others, Slim beat Willie Nelson for $300,000 playing dominoes; Larry Flynt for $2 million playing poker. He has played poker with presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and drug lords Pablo Escobar and Jimmy Chagra. He was also one of the pioneers of Las Vegas. Plain and simple, Amarillo Slim is America's greatest gambler of all time.


About the Author
Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston, 73 years old, is a fast-talking, flamboyant Texas gambler and poker tournament promoter who won the World Series of Poker in 1972. Never without his snakeskin-wrapped Stetson and custom-designed cowboy boots, he lives in Amarillo, Texas, is 6'4" and weighs 170 pounds soaking wet.


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Legendary gambler Amarillo Slim Preston, who captured the World Series of Poker in 1972 and has legitimately snookered more money out of more people than most of us make in a lifetime, steers clear of elaborating on the particulars of such games as Texas Hold 'Em in this off-the-cuff, even flighty tour through his often literally death-defying adventures. Since he's played with the likes of Evel Knievel, Willie Nelson and Minnesota Fats, it is a smooth narrative decision on Preston's part to devote his folksy charm to describing the various characters he has encountered, not the mechanics of how he always beat them (his first rule for poker success is "Play the players more than you play the cards"). He was eventually able to make a career out of gambling, sending his three children to college and leading a comfortable life on his winnings (perhaps the most revealing episode arrives late in the memoir when the nationally known gambler who charmed the now- deceased drug lord Pablo Escobar talks about his joy in coaching his children's Little League team). Like all natural-born sharps, though, Preston knows the virtue of keeping his cards close to his chest, which is a fine strategy at the poker table, but a poor narrative one. Passing phrases such as "I got into some tax trouble" are left curiously unexplained while the author's more self-aggrandizing adventures garner elaborate attention. But when an author has won $2 million from Larry Flynt, and tells the story of it so good-naturedly, readers will pardon the selective nature of his reminiscences. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


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