Rip Amarillo Slim Preston

[AndrewT]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

The worst thing is he never replies to me.

[smashedagain]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

The worst thing is he never replies to me.

Seems unreal that a guy who does not have a bad bone in his body and works so hard has to deal with these idiots Tikay. I sat with Maria this weekend and she does worry for you. You have a real good friend there who has got your back covered

[tikay]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

Lol, yes, loads of it. I even had a Facebook hate page dedicated to me!

Always anon of course. Fancy that.

[Skippy]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

Lol, yes, loads of it. I even had a Facebook hate page dedicated to me!

Always anon of course. Fancy that.

Is it about anything specific or generally "I hate Tikay?"

[tikay]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

The worst thing is he never replies to me.

Seems unreal that a guy who does not have a bad bone in his body and works so hard has to deal with these idiots Tikay. I sat with Maria this weekend and she does worry for you. You have a real good friend there who has got your back covered

I have plenty of bad bones, though yesterday, on the "stealing" thread, I think I came in the blonde Angels department. Seemingly not a good thing that.

Maria is very special to me indeed, she has been such a good & loyal friend, & we share a lot of secrets, she does all my accounting, & various other stuff for me. Nags a lot though, so I'd never marry her.

Anyway, we have somehow jumped from a gentleman who recently passed away, paedo-allegations, to me, (my fault, sorry) lets get back on topic. 

If you bumped into Mr Slim in an elevator or lift, what exactly would you say to him? Remember, you have no proof of the allegations, & only he knows the truth.  Would you be civil to him, rude, or just be typically English, & say nothing?

[tikay]

You get hate mail? Seriousy?

Lol, yes, loads of it. I even had a Facebook hate page dedicated to me!

Always anon of course. Fancy that.

Is it about anything specific or generally "I hate Tikay?"

Just "smear" stuff mainly. My computer got key-logged by one of them last year, & so they had access to my private e-Mails etc. Lets get back on topic though, please. Feel free to ask on my Diary.

[The Camel]

Some (apparently) reasonably balanced facts about the Amarillo allegations are on his Wiki page, here......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Slim

As a quirky aside, I seem to recall that Camel bumped into Mr Slim shortly after the allegations surfaced, in an elevator in Las Vegas, & was stumped for words, he did not know what to say.

If YOU encountered him in such a situation, (whilst he was alive), what would YOU have said, or done? None of us know the true facts, of course. And face to face is very different to the internet. 

Yes, it was at the Commerce Casino in LA, a matter of weeks after the allegations emerged. I was waiting for the lift down to the cardroom and when it arrived he was in there alone. I got in, but didn't know where to look. Couldn't be more awkward. I wished immediately I had let the lift go and waited until it was empty.

I understand and broadly agree with everything Tom says about hating witch hunts.

However, when it comes to child abuse, it is the one crime I believe any innocent man would not plea bargain.

You know when you agree to plead no contest to keep yourself out of prison you will be forever known and pointed out as a paedophile.

If you were guilty and remorseful, you might do what Slim did "to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial".

To my mind, he'll always be a scumbag.

[Laxie]

Some (apparently) reasonably balanced facts about the Amarillo allegations are on his Wiki page, here......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Slim

As a quirky aside, I seem to recall that Camel bumped into Mr Slim shortly after the allegations surfaced, in an elevator in Las Vegas, & was stumped for words, he did not know what to say.

If YOU encountered him in such a situation, (whilst he was alive), what would YOU have said, or done? None of us know the true facts, of course. And face to face is very different to the internet. 

I understand and broadly agree with everything Tom says about hating witch hunts.

However, when it comes to child abuse, it is the one crime I believe any innocent man would not plea bargain.

You know when you agree to plead no contest to keep yourself out of prison you will be forever known and pointed out as a paedophile.

If you were guilty and remorseful, you might do what Slim did "to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial".

To my mind, he'll always be a scumbag.

Very much agree with you.  My mind was struggling to come up with the right words, but you've covered it perfect and more politely than I could muster. 

[tikay]

Some (apparently) reasonably balanced facts about the Amarillo allegations are on his Wiki page, here......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Slim

As a quirky aside, I seem to recall that Camel bumped into Mr Slim shortly after the allegations surfaced, in an elevator in Las Vegas, & was stumped for words, he did not know what to say.

If YOU encountered him in such a situation, (whilst he was alive), what would YOU have said, or done? None of us know the true facts, of course. And face to face is very different to the internet. 

Yes, it was at the Commerce Casino in LA, a matter of weeks after the allegations emerged. I was waiting for the lift down to the cardroom and when it arrived he was in there alone. I got in, but didn't know where to look. Couldn't be more awkward. I wished immediately I had let the lift go and waited until it was empty.

I understand and broadly agree with everything Tom says about hating witch hunts.

However, when it comes to child abuse, it is the one crime I believe any innocent man would not plea bargain.

You know when you agree to plead no contest to keep yourself out of prison you will be forever known and pointed out as a paedophile.

If you were guilty and remorseful, you might do what Slim did "to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial".

To my mind, he'll always be a scumbag.

THAT (enboldened) is the bit that fascinates me, some very interesting psychology going off inside our heads in those spots. The stereotype has us clearing our throats, & looking at our shoes, all sort of awkward. 

[Skippy]

Personally I don't talk to strangers in lifts anyhow, so I don't see how it's awkward.

Anyway, here's a Johnny Hughes post on the 2+2 thread (I got it from the google cache, since 2+2 is down):

Night before last, Shawn Rice called me to tell me Slim was in hospice care. Shawn was Slim's protege at pool and poker since he was 19. He says Slim is the greatest hustler in the world. Shawn and I play some in the same poker game. He is a great guy. I wrote to Crandell Addington and Doyle Brunson. Crandell wrote back that he and Doyle will be the last two Texas road gamblers left, "dinosaurs" he said. None of the people who know Slim here in Texas think he was guilty of this charge. Doyle traveled with Slim for years, and Shawn did later. If he was a freak, those cloest to him would have known it. They all defend him, as Doyle Brunson has done this very morning! It is a usual TwoPlusTwo deal that many who have read little about the case make lying, false statements.


Some years back, Amarillo Slim granddaughter accused him of inappropriately touching her. She has publicly recanted, and said she made it all up. All members of Amarillo Slim's family, including her parents stand behind Slim.

Slim pled NO CONTEST to a misdemeanor assault charge that was NOT a sex charge on a plea bargain. Posters on here routinely say that Slim pled GUILTY OF A SEX CHARGE. If he had, he would be required to register as a sex offender for life. Poker sites routinely say he pldd guilty. There is a huge difference! Some bargain! You would have to know how it works in West Texas. They told him this: Option One: Plead no contest to a lesser, non sex c charge that does not mention or have anything to do with sex, pay a small fine and leave the building. Option Two: Be charged with felony sexual assault. Face a jury and possible life in prison. Life? or a fine? Choose.

Amarillo Slim had plead NO CONTEST to gambling, vagrancy charges several times, as had I. When we pled NO CONTEST to vagrancy by association, it didn't mean we were broke, didn't have a residence, or anything much. It was the cost of doing business for a gambler.

In Tulia, Texas, one lying rogue undercover narcotics officer framed scores of black people for selling cocaine. Many pled guilty when they were innocent on plea bargains to get a lighter sentence. Later this was all discovered, and the Governor gave pardons.

None of Slim's friends ever believed that he had become a child molester after seventy. Doyle Brunson, one of the most respected men in poker, and one os Slim's best friends and old road partners spoke out on Slim's behalf early on, as did any Texan I know of. Nolan Dalla, Media Director for the World Series, did an interview with Slim pointing to his innocence. It is illogical and downright ignorant to believe that Amarillo Slim was guilty of this when his whole family, friends, writers agree that he was innocent. It is time for poker to honor Slim again, with some time of special life-time achievement.

[AndrewT]

You know when you agree to plead no contest to keep yourself out of prison you will be forever known and pointed out as a paedophile.

If you were guilty and remorseful, you might do what Slim did "to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial".

If he was innocent, consider the potential downside - he gets found guilty and goes to prison (maybe for the rest of his life) as a nonce. The nut low outcome.

A fine, probation, and people muttering as you walk by might seem not so bad an option in comparison.

[Graham C]

Guilty or not, anyone that says "My grandbaby was there and she had one leg [near the gear shift]. I reached over and patted her on the leg and said, "I'll bet that feels good."" doesn't right with me.  

[Woodsey]

Some (apparently) reasonably balanced facts about the Amarillo allegations are on his Wiki page, here......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarillo_Slim

As a quirky aside, I seem to recall that Camel bumped into Mr Slim shortly after the allegations surfaced, in an elevator in Las Vegas, & was stumped for words, he did not know what to say.

If YOU encountered him in such a situation, (whilst he was alive), what would YOU have said, or done? None of us know the true facts, of course. And face to face is very different to the internet.  

Yes, it was at the Commerce Casino in LA, a matter of weeks after the allegations emerged. I was waiting for the lift down to the cardroom and when it arrived he was in there alone. I got in, but didn't know where to look. Couldn't be more awkward. I wished immediately I had let the lift go and waited until it was empty.

I understand and broadly agree with everything Tom says about hating witch hunts.

However, when it comes to child abuse, it is the one crime I believe any innocent man would not plea bargain.

You know when you agree to plead no contest to keep yourself out of prison you will be forever known and pointed out as a paedophile.

If you were guilty and remorseful, you might do what Slim did "to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial".

To my mind, he'll always be a scumbag.

THAT (enboldened) is the bit that fascinates me, some very interesting psychology going off inside our heads in those spots. The stereotype has us clearing our throats, & looking at our shoes, all sort of awkward.  

The internet is full of heroes that will write stuff on the net but wouldn't have the nuts to say the same thing face to face, that is just life I afraid. I've known a fair few people get a good kicking for talking smack on the internet to other people that they would never have said in real life to them.

[smashedagain]

I never knew of him being a wrong un and the plea bargin appears to be an admission of guilt. I actually feel weird about starting the thread. Had I met the guy in real life I would have told him how I appreciated his life's work in helping make poker what it is today. Had I known about the other stuff I would imagine I would have just looked down at the floor.

Having said that I shared a lift with Kara Scott and Brian Hastings just after the stuff about him and his mates sharing info and playing against Victor Blom came out. Whilst my friend was making small talk with Kara I told Brian I thought he had done something pretty scummy to a person who at the time was re igniting some interest back into poker. Tbf he gave a pretty good account of himself and whilst he did not agree it was cheating he could understand why people viewed him in a bad light. I then wished him good luck for the rest of the tournament

[Graham C]

Having said that I shared a lift with Kara Scott

subtle