saw Jack Straus eliminated. With only 3 players (Walter "Puggy" Pearson, Brunson and Slim) remaining, Jack Binion led news reporters and a TV crew to the poker table. At that point, Brunson and Pearson announced they did not want to win the event. Brunson was not only afraid of not being let in on future lucrative cash games if he were to be pronounced the world champion of poker, but also of a tax audit. The players struck a deal whereupon Pearson and Brunson would let Slim win the tournament, but in return they would take the cash value of their current chip stacks from Slim's prize. Jack Binion was very cross with the outcome, as players openly changed their play to let Slim win. He held a meeting with the players in the Sombrero room of the Binion's Horseshoe, demanding that players resume fair play. Brunson laid out his reasons and Binion allowed him to withdraw from the tournament and cash his chips, while the reason for Brunson's departure was reported to be an stomachache. The sum that Brunson received in the end is disputed; some sources lay out figures as low as $20K, while according to Des Wilson, Brunson might have left the tournament with as much as half the prizepool. After Brunson left, Pearson and Slim resumed play. According to Slim, Pearson was not content with the deal and was still trying to win the tournament, but in the end Jack Binion reportedly persuaded him to soft-play Slim and thus throw the match for publicity reasons. In the final hand, Pearson raised to 700 chips with 6-6 (of unknown suits) and Slim called with . A flop of K-8-8 was seen. Slim pushed his 51K-chip stack in the pot and Pearson promptly called, both players getting all their chips in the pot. Turn and river (poker) were a deuce and an 8, respectively, and Slim won with a bigger full house. However, in the end, according to The Hendon Mob, Slim walked away from the table with winnings of mere $15K, only 3 times his investment. Aftermath After winning the tournament, Amarillo Slim was invited to Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show on June 12 the same year. Slim later made 10 more appearances on The Tonight Show, an appearance on CBS's Hour, and a cameo in the 1974 film California Split. His life story inspired the Kenny