The father of modern poker, in fact, I have already mentioned Amarillo Slim in a previous post. He was the man in charge to take along with Doyle, to take the poker of the clandestine tables to the view of millions of spectators, a man with an ingenuity and incredible logic, it is difficult to count the times that Amarillo Slim lost a bet in his life ( Poker was not the only thing he played)
As you must be assuming, Amarillo Slim was born in the United States, in a town called Amarillo that gave him his nickname, in addition to always wearing a dress characterized by his hat, boots and an accent that simulated a small-town fool. Ironically that appearance was one of the secret weapons of Yellow, it was better for him than the others thought that he was a first-timer looking to earn easy money in Poker (what a surprise they were)
He had a quiet adolescence in which he found his talent born for games and bets, being a star in the local pool (he won a bet playing with a broom as a cue), when he met poker he ended up falling madly in love with the game and thanks to destination met Doyle Brunson in one of those clandestine bets, formed a team and toured the entire United States to create a bankroll that exceeded 6 figures. In addition, he managed to show the beauty of poker and capture it in a way that ended up being accepted by everyone, becoming the favorite game in casinos.
Amarillo Slim, winner of the World Series of Poker of 1972 and three other bracelets, the last one in 1990. His life as less was very interesting, he was entangled in all kinds of experiences. Since being targeted with firearms in countless times, being kidnapped by the then most famous drug dealer of all America "Pablo Escobar", although it was a mistake and he ended up playing poker with him.
In his life there are several funny stories, but the most famous are the times he won bets because he chose rules so crazy that it was unthinkable that someone had a talent for that; He bet that he would win a race to a horse runner, 100 yards but the condition that allowed him to beat the fast animal was to be 50 one-way and 50 coming; while the horse was rushing to change direction, Amarillo was at the finish line celebrating his victory. He hit a golf ball more than a mile (at least 3 times more than a professional golfer) and many other stories that I recommend you read in his writings.
He was a man who spoke with wisdom and in fact left us several phrases that will last forever in the history of poker, such as:
"If you have been in a poker game for a while, and you still don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy."
out there are many versions, but basically all the quotes means the same
I would have liked someone to produce a movie about the life of this prominent character, essentially his trip through gambling but the only movie that was being made in his name was canceled because of the scandals that plagued the life of Amarillo Slim during a dark age, He was accused of having had strange behaviors with his granddaughter of 12 years, was never accused guilty but agreed to pay a fine to end all the polemics, in his own words was the best for the family.
He finally lost the most important "All-in" of his life at age 83, dying in 2012. We will always remember this man who managed to enter the Hall of Fame in 5 different ways, brought poker to our lives and was a genius of poker and betting.
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