You have a great writing style, very credible, and entertaining. Those were dangerous times. Almost all of the guys are gone. A great book!... Doyle Brunson, Poker Hall of Fame, author. Hes as good a writer as he is a player. When it comes to poker tales...Johnny Hughes is your man.... Anthony Holden, London, President of the International Federation of Poker, author ... a captivating raconteur and avid historian...brings them to life with a unique flair and panache...(He) paints word pictures with witty, lush brush strokes reminiscent of Tom Wolfe... Paul Dr. Pauly McGuire, author ..the William Manchester of poker historians...a Hughes narrative is like lighting a lantern into the darkest recess of pokers subculture...provides the very best portrait of these unique real-life characters of anyone on record... Nolan Dalla, Media Director. World Series of Poker, author. ...the true story...of the beginnings of the phenomenon that poker has become... Crandell Addington, Poker Hall of Fame. Reading...is only paralleled by listening to him tell those stories in real time...like putting yourself in the same room as it all unfolded...when the mob ruled Las Vegas...the real stories... Ryan Sayer, OnTilt Radio, C.O.O.,and Host. www.JohnnyHughes.com

You have a great writing style, very credible, and entertaining. Those were dangerous times. Almost all of the guys are gone. A great book!... -Doyle Brunson, Poker Hall of Fame, author. He's as good a writer as he is a player. When it comes to poker tales...Johnny Hughes is your man.... -Anthony Holden, London, President of the International Federation of Poker, author ... a captivating raconteur and avid historian...brings them to life with a unique flair and panache...(He) paints word pictures with witty, lush brush strokes reminiscent of Tom Wolfe... -Paul "Dr. Pauly" McGuire, author ..the William Manchester of poker historians...a Hughes narrative is like lighting a lantern into the darkest recess of poker's subculture...provides the very best portrait of these unique real-life characters of anyone on record... -Nolan Dalla, Media Director. World Series of Poker, author. ...the true story...of the beginnings of the phenomenon that poker has become... -Crandell Addington, Poker Hall of Fame. Reading...is only paralleled by listening to him tell those stories in real time...like putting yourself in the same room as it all unfolded...when the mob ruled Las Vegas...the real stories... -Ryan Sayer, OnTilt Radio, C.O.O., and Host. www.JohnnyHughes.com

Amarillo Slim Preston has won $300,000 from Willie Neslon playing dominoes and $2 million from Larry Flynt playing poker. He has shuffled, dealt, and bluffed with some of twentieth-century's most famous figures. He beat Minnesota Fats at pool with a broom, Bobby Riggs at table tennis with a skillet, and Evel Knievel at golf with a carpenter's hammer. Amarillo Slim has gambled with 'em all, and left most of them wishing they hadn't. The memoirs of a living American icon, Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People is the story of life as a Texas road gambler and the discovery of the Wild West. It's also the story of how Slim won the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe, became a worldwide celebrity, and brought poker from smoky backrooms to mainstream America. Just let him tell it: "If there's anything I'll argue about, I'll either bet on it or shut up. And since it's not very becoming for a cowboy to be arguing, I've made a few wagers in my day. But in my humble opinion, I'm no ordinary hustler. You see, neighbor, I never go looking for a sucker. I look for a champion and make a sucker out of him ..." "I'm fixing to tell you a few things that I've been keeping to myself for a lot of years. If you're not careful, you just might learn how to get rich without ever having a job."

"Scrolling the pages of a Hughes narrative is like lighting a lantern into the darkest recess of poker's subculture. [Hughes] brings the legends of the past and present to life and often provides the very best portrait of these unique, real-life characters of anyone on record." -Nolan Dalla, media director, World Series of Poker, best-selling author and columnist for Card Player "Johnny Hughes's poker stories are a national treasure . hilarious stories and colorful characters . timeless classics . the stuff of history . one of my all-time favorite poker writers." -Iggy, a.k.a. Ignatius J. Reilly, the Blogfather of Poker, GuinnessandPoker.com "Told with authenticity and the knowledge that only a true road gambler could possess . a book that you will love . a highly enjoyable read." -Anthony Kelly, editor-in-chief, Player Europe magazine. Dublin. "Cryptic, dark. Irrefutably unique. Elliptical euphemism and metaphor are (Hughes's) tools. Gambling folklore and parables abound. All told with a twinkle in the eye and one finger on the trigger ... Johnny writes evasively, challenging us to refute, compelling us to believe." -James Dodd, a.k.a. Tetuso, Bet-the-Pot.com. London.

The story of Doyle Brunson, an American treasure and the greatest poker player of all time, is one for the ages. Its a story of guts and glory, of good luck and bad, of triumph and unspeakable tragedy, of courage and grace. He has survived whippings, gun fights, stabbings, mobsters (the real-life ones portrayed in the movie Casino), murderers, and a death sentence when, riddled with incurable cancer, he was given months to live by doctors who told him his hand was played out.A master of the bluff, his most outrageous bluff came after being pistol-whipped and told hes going to die with a gunman pointing a pistol at his forehead. Again, he lived. Brunson has seen it all: from the athletic dreams and a leg shattered by a freak injury which waylaid his path to the NBA (he was drafted by the Lakers), to the devastating death of his first-born daughter, to outrageous exploits like trying to discover Noah Ark and raise the Titanic. Doyles rollercoaster of a life defines the saying: Truth is stranger than fiction.Twice a winner of the prestigious World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, he's won millions and lost millions sometimes in seconds but decidedly more of the former than the latter. Brunson can still be found playing in the highest stakes poker games in the world, often with as much as one million dollars in front of him. To every one of the 250 million people worldwide who play poker each year, Doyle Brunson, is the legendary Babe Ruth of Poker the greatest gambler and poker player who has ever lived.

Destined to become “the new poker classic, a must-read” (Mike Sexton, top poker player and promoter), Ghosts at the Table is the game's first definitive history. With verve and wit, internationally renowned poker personality Des Wilson traces poker's Wild West origins in Deadwood, South Dakota-where “Wild” Bill Hickok was said to have been shot holding aces and eights-to the annual World Series of Poker and amazing high-stakes games of modern-day Las Vegas. It's a story full of unforgettable characters-riverboat gamblers, Texas rounders, roadside hucksters, and living legends-who have helped make poker the world's most popular game.

Explains the history of poker from the nineteenth century to the modern world of professional poker players, tournaments, and online gaming.