19 Facts About Titanic Thompson

In 1928, Titanic Thompson was involved in a high-stakes poker game that led to the shooting death of New York City crime boss Arnold Rothstein, then called the "crime of the century".

Titanic Thompson's mother remarried following desertion by Thomas' father, who was himself a gambler.

Titanic Thompson ended the war with more than $50,000 in cash, and used much of this money to buy his mother a house in Monett, Missouri, his birthplace.

Later, when Titanic Thompson had honed his skills, he became a "road gambler", a traveling hustler who became an underground legend by winning at all manner of propositions, many of them tricky if not outright fraudulent.

Titanic Thompson won by waiting until winter and driving the ball onto a frozen lake, where it bounced past the required distance on the ice.

Titanic Thompson had to perform under pressure, and most often did.

Titanic Thompson typically married a young woman, lived with her for a few months, then returned to his road hustling, while leaving comfortable housing and financial support for his newly divorced wife.

When Titanic Thompson climbed back on board, Johnson drew a knife and threatened Titanic Thompson's girlfriend, who was on board.

Titanic Thompson seized a hammer and struck Johnson several times on the head before throwing him overboard.

Titanic Thompson showed no remorse, stating it was Johnson's fault for not being able to swim.

The other four men Titanic Thompson killed were shot in self-defense when they tried to rob him of gambling winnings.

Titanic Thompson's last killing came near a country club in Texas in 1932 when he shot a masked figure who was holding him at gunpoint.

Titanic Thompson had been present at the game, and an active participant in it; and it was he who, in association with one Nate Raymond, allegedly fixed the game, leaving Rothstein with total debts estimated at $500,000.

Titanic Thompson, who was not present at the shooting, gave evidence at McManus's trial, without revealing his own role in the poker game.

Titanic Thompson later told close friends that he knew the real killer had been Rothstein's bodyguard.

Mid-decade, Titanic Thompson sponsored a young Raymond Floyd, then early in his PGA Tour career but already a winner, in a big-money stakes match against Lee Trevino, then an unknown assistant pro, in El Paso, at Trevino's home course.

Titanic Thompson participated in the first World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1970.

Titanic Thompson lived out his final years in a nursing home near Dallas.

Titanic Thompson had made gambling trips with eldest son Tommy for many years, but after his father died, Tommy, who had become a skilled, successful gambler, gave up gambling for a church ministry and later counseled prisoners, preaching to convince others to stay away from gambling.