Amarillo Slim is dead

wincardona

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I knew Slim fairly well, he was the most colorful poker player of his time, but played 8 to 7 under the best players. He played Reyes one pocket in Dallas Tex, I believe it was 15 to 4 or 5, Reyes won but not easy. He was also around Baton Rouge around 1995 when the action was fast and plentiful. He was playing a book maker poker by the name of Linzy, don't remember how that turned out. Slim was great for action, where ever he went you could bet that there would be gambling.

Dr. Bill
 

Cowboy Dennis

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I knew Slim fairly well, he was the most colorful poker player of his time, but played 8 to 7 under the best players. He played Reyes one pocket in Dallas Tex, I believe it was 15 to 4 or 5, Reyes won but not easy. He was also around Baton Rouge around 1995 when the action was fast and plentiful. He was playing a book maker poker by the name of Linzy, don't remember how that turned out. Slim was great for action, where ever he went you could bet that there would be gambling.

Dr. Bill

They've got a thread going at the All-Zaniness site about Slim; http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=273429

Here's a few posts from it:

Txstang1 said:
I was there at the event too, that's pretty much where I grew up playing. I didn't see that match but I did watch him play Reyes the same way at CJ's. Seems like they were playing for 40k or something crazy like that ? Memories !
jay helfert said:
Efren gave Slim 17-5! I was there too.
You are right about the bet though, it was a BIG number!

Masayoshi said:
I can't imagine a shortstop getting 17-5, even if the one giving it was efren.
jay helfert said:
Slim was already about 70 years old then! His eyes and legs were about gone. In his prime Efren may have been able to give him something like 10-5. At worst 10-5, 10-6. That was a routine game for Efren against a good player in his prime.

Dennis
 

vapros

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Bill, that would have been in 1998, the same year as the legends tourney at the casino here. I remember seeing Slim playing a guy from Hot Springs named Sonny White. They semed to be a pretty good match - not really top-notch one-pocket.
 

beatle

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yea he beat lindsy big time. he went off for a lot gambling with individuals.

slim also booked the action at the early stardust tournaments. he faded all the dumps they pulled on him. he made lines on almost every match and left the window open until the cat was out of the bag.

he made a 50,000 dollar bet in the early eighties that he could raft down the snake river while it was full of ice in the dead of winter. it was a piece of cake as the river is low then. he got paid.

slim was no saint he went after the money any way he could as long as it wasnt too steamy. and usually got it.

his long suit was reading people and taking advantage of what their weakness was and going for it.

a few times i was in with him on endeavors and you could always not worry about the count or the outcome and not getting doubled out.

his big weakness like all gamblers was that he liked to gamble too much and sometimes played too long with the worst of it.
 

Deeman

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I only saw him once in, strangely enough, Amarillo where Jimmy Caras was doing one of his Brunswick exhibitions and Slim showed up trying to get Mr. Caras to play some poker but he then offered to play him golf as Mr. Caras was planning to play that afternoon. Slim offered to play in his cowboy boots but I don't know if they played or not. I did hear Mr. Caras say, "Slim, you always play in your boots!"

By the way, I was poor college kid but was very impressed with how Mr. Caras played in that neat suit. I later heard that Brunswick only paid him a pittance for expenses while they heaped money on Mosconi! I read somewhere recently where it was $50 a week! Pretty cheap for even 1970, I think.

DeeMan
 

petie

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If that's true what a shame, Dee. I saw Caras run 30 balls with a broom. He also set up a ball on the line that bisects the racking spot but along the side rail. He then put the cue ball along the same side rail but on the head line. He hit the cue ball so perfect with low English that the object ball barely trickled into the corner pocket. The cue ball slowly drew all the way back to the head line. What a sweet stroke.
 

SJDinPHX

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I liked Slim as much as everybody did..He and I could never make a game we both liked, but I got to him pretty good a few times, when he staked his homey, Andy Olguin against me...I only wish I could have bet as much as Slim wanted to..:eek:

I was sweating a game with him, one time at a Jansco tournament, in Vegas, when Ronnie Allen tried to put the bite on him for a C-note..Slim turned him down..He said to me, "That boy is into me for more than the national debt"..A few minutes later, I saw him slip up to RA, and hand him TWO C-notes..:cool:

T.A. Preston was good people..RIP Slim.

PS,, You're right Beatle. He did fade a lot of dumps in Vegas, and never whined much about it, 'cuz more often then not,
he (knowingly) had the right guy..;)
 
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Alfie Taylor

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always looking for an angle

always looking for an angle

Eddie Taylor told me, when he was about to play Ronnie Allen in the finals in Las Vegas, Slim got close to Eddie and said "Eddie, I can bet five or ten thousand on Ronnie". Eddie told him, "Well, Slim. If you think Ronnie can win, you should go on and bet it."
Eddie Taylor go in the tank? Not bloody likely. He was a man of honor.
Keep it nice. Alfie
 

TWO PICKS

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My late partner and friend Frank Bananas Rodriguez always told me that Eddie was the MAN.
 
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