A legendary gambler and storyteller captures the fun, spirit, and outlandishness of his life, illustrating his exploits with infamous and prominent characters ranging from Willie Nelson and Larry Flynt to Lyndon Johnson and Pablo Escobar, his World War II black-market enterprise, and other flamboyant escapades. Reprint Amarillo Slim Preston has won $300,000 from Willie Neslon playing dominoes and $2 million from Larry Flynt playing poker. He has shuffled, dealt, and bluffed with some of twentieth-century's most famous figures. He beat Minnesota Fats at pool with a broom, Bobby Riggs at table tennis with a skillet, and Evel Knievel at golf with a carpenter's hammer. Amarillo Slim has gambled with 'em all, and left most of them wishing they hadn't. The memoirs of a living American icon, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People is the story of life as a Texas road gambler and the discovery of the Wild West. It's also the story of how Slim won the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe, became a worldwide celebrity, and brought poker from smoky backrooms to mainstream America. Just let him tell it: "If there's anything I'll argue about, I'll either bet on it or shut up. And since it's not very becoming for a cowboy to be arguing, I've made a few wagers in my day. But in my humble opinion, I'm no ordinary hustler. You see, neighbor, I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a champion and make a sucker out of him ..." "I'm fixing to tell you a few things that I've been keeping to myself for a lot of years. If you're not careful, you just might learn how to get rich without ever having a job." Introduction 1(186) 1. From Arkansas to Texas-the Making of Amarillo Slim 11(16) 2. Serving My Country (and Myself) 27(20) 3. If You Want Some Publicity, Set Yourself on Fire 47(16) 4. Have I Got a Proposition for You: Titanic, Runyon, Moss, and More 63(24) 5. Doyle, Sailor, and Slim: Three Peas in a Pod Who Liked to Book and Bet (but Not Among Themselves) 87(24) 6. It Takes a Tough Sonofabitch to Whip Me: Poker and Life as a Texas Road Gambler 111(20) 7. A Binion, a Greek, and How Las Vegas Became the Poker Capital of the World 131(18) 8. Another Greek, a Thackrey, and the World Series of Poker 149(24) 9. Celebrity Has Its Perks 173(14) 10. The River of No Return 187(14) 11. Spit and Pull It-Leading Men and the Super Bowl of Poker 201(20) 12. Very Seldom Do the Lambs Slaughter the Butcher-Getting Fat Overseas 221(12) 13. A Rattlesnake, an Alligator, Pablo Escobar, and Another Trip to Idaho When I Almost Didn't Return 233(24) 14. The Last Hand 257(8) Recommended Reading 265(2) Acknowledgments 267