Learn Texas Holdem

Some people think of the 1969 Super Bowl as the game that changed Pro Football. Well if it was, the 1972 WSOP might just have been the game that changed poker. Super Bowl Three had the eminently quotable "Broadway" Joe Namath drawing crowds, and WSOP Three had "Amarillo" Slim Preston.

More on the WSOP:

WSOP Satellites
New 2008 WSOP Events
2008 WSOP Schedule
WSOP Player Profiles
WSOP History
WSOP Winners
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

WSOP Year By Year

2000's	1990's	1980's	1970's
2007 WSOP	1999 WSOP	1989 WSOP	1979 WSOP
2006 WSOP	1998 WSOP	1988 WSOP	1978 WSOP
2005 WSOP	1997 WSOP	1987 WSOP	1977 WSOP
2004 WSOP	1996 WSOP	1986 WSOP	1976 WSOP
2003 WSOP	1995 WSOP	1985 WSOP	1975 WSOP
2002 WSOP	1994 WSOP	1984 WSOP	1974 WSOP
2001 WSOP	1993 WSOP	1983 WSOP	1973 WSOP
2000 WSOP	1992 WSOP	1982 WSOP	1972 WSOP
	1991 WSOP	1981 WSOP	1971 WSOP
	1990 WSOP	1980 WSOP	1970 WSOP