01-21-07, LearnTexasHoldem:
1972 WSOP
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H.O.R.S.E.: The Player's Championship
Slim, Doyle and Sailor
While 1972 was still a long way from the record breaking thousands of players who show up for the World Series of Poker in the 21st century, it might well have marked one of the last years of the event if not for the presence of an amiable young cowboy named Thomas Preston, better known to the world as Amarillo Slim. Slim found the event through his friend Doyle Brunson. The two, along with fellow gambler Sailor Roberts, "rode the white line" for years, looking for poker games they could pick off to fatten their bankroll. Both Sailor and Doyle had played in the event the previous year, and Slim decided it was his turn.
"It Feels Better In"
Indeed it was. When the smoke cleared, the tournament was down to only Slim and Puggy Pearson, and the battle was on. Slim, the ultimate showman, played his part to the hilt, making pronouncements such as "it feels better in!" when shoving all his chips in the middle, showing his cards to the crowd, and generally having a great time, while on the other side of the table, Pearson seemed to sweat every decision, every crucial hand. By the time it was over, Slim had emerged victorious.
There is some speculation that Pearson may have thrown the title match to Slim. Some believe that Pearson feared the tax implications of winning, whereas Slim was happy to take on all the publicity he could get. If this is true, it is surely a stain on poker, but the result may have saved tournament poker to grow into the phenomenon it is today.
The First Poker Celebrity
In today's poker environment, where poker champions rub elbows with movie stars and pro athletes, the idea of a poker celebrity is commonplace. Until Amarillo Slim won the 1972 World Series of Poker, however, it was unheard of. Professional poker players were quiet, solitary men who preferred to stay out of the limelight. Slim on the other hand, was the P.T. Barnum of his day. Slim made the bulk of his money on "proposition bets," rather than poker, bets that Slim arranged so that it would look like he was sure to lose, when in fact, he held a piece of information that his victim was unaware of that made him sure to win. Slim knew a good thing (financially) when he saw it, and so, following his 1972 victory, Slim literally invented the concept of the poker celebrity. He went on talk shows like Johnny Carson, looking every bit the poker icon with his cowboy hat, snakeskin boots and Texas drawl. He wrote a book and went on tour with it, and he delivered newspaper worthy quotes wherever he went.
Slim's contribution to the game is still felt today. Ten years from the time Slim put poker on the national stage, the number of players in the main event jumped from 8 to over a hundred. Poker celebrities are now the norm. Every player who signs an autograph today, be it Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow or any other, owes a debt to Amarillo Slim Preston and his performance in the 1972 World Series of Poker.1972 WSOP Tournaments and Winners
| Event | Winner | Prize | Entrants |
| $10,000 Championship Event | Amarillo Slim Preston | $80,000 | 8 |
| $10,000 Five-Card Stud | Bill Boyd | $20,000 | N/A |
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