Amarillo Slim – from my POV

I dealt Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker in 1988 at Caesars in Lake Tahoe, and in 1989 at Caesars in Las Vegas.  I was a green horn hick from Montana when I dealt it in Lake Tahoe and can barely remember seeing Amarillo Slim.  It was like a ‘poker star’ sighting and I wasn’t sure I was supposed to be impressed but the other dealers appeared to be.

My memory of him during those two tournaments was a brief encounter between poker tables where he always had a smile and said hello but went on about the business of being the showman that he was.

In those days I had no appreciation for the people that built the industry of poker to what it is today. I really hated dealing those tournaments and side games.  Looking back at it now, I believe it was a lack of confidence on my part and not really knowing anything about the subtleties of big limit and pro player attitudes. After all, in Montana I dealt $3-6 limit games. We did play mixed games which helped with some of the experience in the big tournaments but the attitudes of the players was something I hadn’t yet built a shield for.

Once I started dealing at the Mirage, I cannot remember an occasion where I crossed paths with Slim.  Bellagio, yes, there were times that he was up in the high limit area but I didn’t deal to him.  He was cordial, always flirting, hinting to meeting up later at his hotel room, and milling around talking to others.  He loved the ladies!

I found Slim at the Jack Gallery at Mandalay Bay in 2006 when I went to see the gallery and meet Amy and Greg Patterson.

In this picture, he was seated in the gallery, there to spread his goodwill and voice to the opening of the gallery, and do what he did best…promote himself.  That’s not meant as condescending, it’s just what he did.

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The above photo was taken with an Olympus and the following two were taken with a Sony (my favorite) and star Amy Patterson and Slim in one and two unknown ladies with Slim in the other.

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PokerWorks has a ‘Where are they now’ series and Slim is featured in one of them, published in 2008.

He is rumored to have said “If a woman ever wins the WSOP I would slit my throat.” Preston quickly recounted saying, he was only talking about a particular woman, not the entire gender of woman. Who was she?  Unknown at this time.

Another article on Slim is a reprint of the column by John L. Smith where he is accused of molesting his granddaughter. After reading that article, I had a big ball of foul filth in the back of my throat.  At the times I saw him at Bellagio, it was always the first thing that jumped into my head…child molester…how can you show your face in public?

I feel better about it all now because I found evidence that Slim addressed the charges to Nolan Dalla (this is a two part article) and on Dennis Phillips radio show  ‘The Final Table.’

Perhaps I’m naive and there’s more to it than is evident in Slim’s statements, but it just fits better with the picture of him I now have, knowing that he would openly discuss it.

Slim’s life story was to be made into a movie starring Nicolas Cage, whether or not that will ever become a reality is hard to say.

As all things go, the end is inevitable, and so it was with Amarillo Slim.  RIP!

8 thoughts on “Amarillo Slim – from my POV”

  1. Speaking of WSOP – With the Asian WSOP looming; the US WSOP pending; the European WSOP maybe; think you the WSOP will descend into play-off’s (like divisional play-off’s) and then ONLY the winners of the various divisions will be participants in a WSOP (like – Super WSOP (winner, world champion)).

  2. Fascinating article by Slim’s “agent” on grantland.com today, detailing a meeting with Slim and Nic Cage, and talking about some very interesting aspects of Slim’s character. Glad to see you posting a bit more regularly. The daughter is going to Ghana this summer for 2 months of service work, and the 15 year-old got to work at two of the top 20 restaurants in the world this winter, and is firmly established as a chef in Boulder these days. As for the 10 year-old, well, he’s being as 10 as he possibly can. Best wishes, my dear.

  3. Jan, so very good to hear from you. I even had the thought I should email you about a week ago, just to see how you were doing. Great report on the kids.

  4. The woman Slim was talking about in the “slit my throat quote” is Vera Richmond. I heard it on a pokercast this weekend that had Mike Sexton on as a guest.

    Hope all is well.

  5. Ron? HOLY KRAMOLIE! How are you and how have you been? Long time! Now I have to google Vera Richmond, it doesn’t ring a bell with me. Thanks for checking in!

  6. Well, you knew me as Billy or Robert, lol. I am doing well, I moved back to Virginia after 18 months of Vegas fun (didn’t leave busto so that’s good, lol). I’m getting ready to publish my first novel (no poker in it). All and all still doing well, Jess is doing well too.

    I still remember letting me shoot guns with you and having a great lunch at your compound, fun times.

    About Vera, Sexton didn’t have very kind words about her either, which is surprising because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about anyone. Must mean she was a real curmudgeon.

  7. Robert…sorry for the mix-up. I’ve wondered now and then how you and Jess were and if you were still in Vegas. That’s impressive – completing a novel. It takes a lot of dedication.

    Yes, I remember the fun time we had out here with lunch and going to shoot. I still live out here in the quiet part of life. It’s been great.

    Thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment.

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