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.

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.

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!