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Poker great Thomas 'Amarillo Slim' Preston dies

Monday, April 30, 2012
Professional poker player Amarillo Slim looks on during the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series Poker held at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2007.

Professional poker player Amarillo Slim looks on during the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series Poker held at the Rio hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Friday, July 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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  Associated Press

AMARILLO, Texas - April 30, 2012 (WPVI) -- Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston Jr., an acclaimed professional poker player who fancied himself the "World's Greatest Gambler," has died.

Bunky Preston said Monday that his father died of colon cancer Sunday in hospice care in Amarillo, Texas. He was 83.

Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992. He also wrote or co-wrote several books about the game and himself.

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Bunky Preston says his father got his nickname playing pool. Unlike many professional gamblers at the time, Amarillo Slim Preston sought out the media spotlight after his World Series of Poker win and is credited with helping raise the game's public profile.

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