BY TOM SOMACH

A convicted child molester who won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is now shamelessly selling autographed photos of himself to make money!

Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr., 78, who won the WSOP main event in 1972, has started selling autographed photographs of himself for $20 apiece at his website, www.amarilloslim.org.

The 8×10 black and white photos depict a grinning Preston with his chin resting on his palm and wearing a white cowboy hat. The smiling photo is chilling in an eerie sort of way, as it gives no indication of the twisted and perverted mind that sits under the cowboy hat.

For those unfamiliar with the story, here it is:

In 2003, Preston was indicted in Texas on three felony counts of indecency with a child by contact, for sexually assaulting his then 12-year-old granddaughter.

He copped a plea and pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of assault, avoiding prison and getting off with a wrist slap of two years probation and a $4,000 fine.

Although he avoided prison, the incident was a head slap to his reputation, earning him a new nickname–”Amarillo Slime”–and forever tarnishing him name and image in the world of poker and beyond.

Once one of the biggest names in the game, the poker world has largely turned its back on the aging Texan and shunned him since his arrest and plea bargain, preferring not to be connected in any way to a convicted sex offender and child molester.

There are tons of poker shows on television these days, but when was the last time you saw “Amarillo Slim” on any of them?

Never would be the answer to that question.

And, unlike other poker pros, especially WSOP champs, who make a small fortune on the side by endorsing products and making motivational speeches, no companies who care about their reputations–which means all of them–would dare offer Preston an endorsement deal or speaking engagement.

Thus, “Amarillo Slim” has been reduced to selling overpriced photos of himself on a sleazy website.

In addition, another ugly public incident a few years ago, that also involved Preston, did nothing to enhance his image or reputation.

While negotiating a big bucks film deal to have a movie made about his life, Preston went on a local radio station to talk about the deal and made on-air anti-semetic remarks.

The film deal was immediately quashed by the movie producers.

Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, Preston has also rewritten–or more accurately, unwritten–history on his website.

His personal history, that is.

For his biography, Preston reproduces on his website the entry on himself from online encyclopedia Wikipedia (www.wikepedia.org.)

The Wikipedia information about Preston appears almost verbatim on Preston’s website, except for a couple of things: the info about Preston’s arrest and conviction on child molestation charges as detailed by Wikepedia is nowhere to be found on www.amarilloslim.org., and neither is anything about the radio slurs and the lost movie deal.

There’s a game you might be familiar with called liar’s poker.

By his glaring omissions about his true self, Preston is poker’s liar.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)