Kaban ni D_BystandeR: ANG PINAKABANTOGANG SUGAROL SA DULA NGA POKER

What could be considered as the greatest man to become the first poker game celebrity is Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston. In the wee hours of May 1972, at 3 am, it was known in Las Vegas and two hours after he was seen talking to a Los Angeles reporter that he "was still looking for a game, any game, as long as it's for real money." The tall and lanky professional gambler has carved a name for himself in gambling history. He was credited for writing books in gambling, including, "Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived." 

In 1992, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, whose fame became known after wining the 1972 World Series of Poker and began promoting poker himself on "The Tonight Show" and other TV programs. "He brought poker out of the back alleys," said Larry Grossman, longtime gaming analyst and poker historian who knew him. "It was really Slim that become the face of poker for middle America," he said. Stories would tell about him, beating Minnesota Fats in pocket billiards using a broomstick. Or beating tennis hustler Bobby Riggs in a game of pingpong using an iron skillet or frying pan. Or betting he could hit a golf ball more than one mile. 

He acknowledged losing was always a possibility in gambling. But he didn't consider losing a bad thing in itself. "Anyone who never loses doesn't do much playing," he told the New Orleans Times-Picayuni in 1994. "If there wasn't any losing, it wouldn't be any fun. You'd be bored to death." In 2003, his reputation was tarnished when a grand jury indicted him on three felony counts of indecency with a child by contact, accusing him of touching a 12-year-old girl on three occasions earlier that year. He was born on Dec. 31, 1928, in Johnson, Arkansas, and his family later moved to Amarillo, Texas, which remained his hometown. At 17, he enlisted in the Navy. Stationed in the West Coast, he wangled duty as chauffeur for a captain - easy job that took about an hour each day. He then used the Navy sedan to pool halls, where his exceptional playing earned him a considerable amount of money. When he saw pool dying out as a way for him to earn a living in the early '60s, his son, Bunky said, he turned his attention to playing cards. From 1964 to 1971, Amarillo Slim joined Doyle Brunson and Brian "Sailor" Roberts in traveling around the Southwest playing the poker. Brunson, a two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion, said Mr. Preston "brought respectability to poker." He died of colon cancer on Sunday, April 29 in hospice care in Amarillo, Texas, said his son. He was 83.

(Bug-os ang  pasalamat sa KAHAYAG ngadto sa nagsulat niining  artikulo  nga si JOHNNY LOVE. Nagtakuban siya sa pangalan, "D_BystandeR".  Natawo siya sa Sugbo apan anaa na karon manimuyo sa Illinois sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika. Ang kusog nga koneksyon sa kasayuran pinaagi sa internet kanunayng naghaling sa iyang kadasig  pagtuki sa mga nagbukalbukal nga hisgutanan dinhi sa atong nataran. Usa siya ka magsusulat nga gradwado sa kursong komersiyo padulong sa pagka accountant sa University of San Carlos kaniadtong tuig 1961.  Nahimo siyang miyembro sa usa ka hugpong sa mga batan-ong magsusulat nga gitawag ug STUDENT PRESS.  Nahimo usab siyang   Associate Editor sa basahon  USC-JPIAN sa tuig 1962-63. Magtatampo usab siya isip magsusulat sa nasudnong magasin,  "Philippines Free Press" ug sa mga nag-unang peryodiko dinhi sa dakbayan sa Sugbo sa lunhaw pa ang iyang pangedaron. Nahimo siyang mamumuo sa usa ka pribadong kompaniya sa dakbayan sa Sugbo, ESCANO LINES, sulod sa napulo ug duha (12) ka tuig  dayon niyang tapon  ngadto sa NAPOCOR  ug nahimong kawani sa kagamhanan  sulod sa bayente dos (22) ka tuig. Niadtong tunga-tungang bahin sa tuig 2000, nilalin siya ngadto sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika ug sulod sa napulo (10) ka tuig, nagtrabaho siya sa  buhatan sa kagamhanan sa nasod sama  sa  UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS).  Karon sa pangedaron nga 67,  gihuptan gihapon niya ang walay pagkutat nga kadasig ug walay busganan nga kaikag sa pagpaambit sa iyang nahuptang abilidad  ug kabatid sa panulat.  Dili niya mapugngan ang kaugalingon sa pagpaambit sa iyang mga hunahuna labi na kon molambigit kini ug hisgotanan nga makadani sa iyang mga mata.)