"Amarillo Slim In A World Full Of Fat People" ReviewWhy this is the most entertaining poker book ever...In a way it's fitting that the most entertaining poker book ever written contains total detail about the most dramatic game of poker ever played, by the greatest card man of the twentieth century. I'm talking about the truly legendary, Thomas Austin "Amarillo Slim" Preston. His amazing book, Amarillo Slim In A World Full of Fat People, is for poker what the BBC's Top Gear is to motoring: funny, wicked, informative and entertaining. If Jeremy Clarkeson is reading this, that wipes out any future poker debts I might accrue!
In the early nineties, Slim was invited help launch the Casino de Caribe in Cartagena, Columbia by casino boss Lynn Simon. Amarillo was flattered to be asked at this late stage in his career only to discover that he would be playing some of the deepest untaxed pockets in the world:namely, the major drug lords of the Columbian cartels. Playing poker for the very highest stakes is nerve racking at the best of times: now just imagine that you're about to have a showdown with Pablo Escobar, probably the most feared cold-blooded killer on Earth. Turns out Pablo just wanted to be friends and show Slim his mansion, his zoo and that he was in charge of Columbia. Once this had been established, Escobar's helicopter dropped Amarillo back at the Caribe. The tall Texan then proceeded to financially disable some of the deadliest Cartel bosses, under protection from a Swiss style physical safety agreement, which they honoured under pain of death from Escobar. Apparently Pablo himself didn't fair well at poker against the card playing cowboy, leaving the Columbian poker challenge to come from his under bosses, who lost the equivalent of 'a week's supply' to the six foot four American. Play poker like Amarillo Slim at: |
