NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Amarillo Slim’ dies

AMARILLO, Texas

Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston Jr., a poker champion whose brash style, fast talking and love of the spotlight helped broaden the professional game’s appeal and made him one of its most-recognizable characters, has died.

Preston’s son, Bunky Preston, said he died Sunday of colon cancer while in hospice care in Amarillo.

“He was playing poker until the very end,” Bunky Preston told The Associated Press on Monday.

Thomas Preston got his nickname playing pool, according to his son, and with his cowboy hat and Southern drawl, he wouldn’t have been out of place gambling in an Old West saloon.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard have baby

NEW YORK

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard have welcomed a second daughter.

Gyllenhaal’s publicist said in an email Monday that the actress gave birth to Gloria Ray on April 19 in New York. No more details were provided.

The couple had their first daughter, Ramona, in 2006. They wed in 2009.

Gyllenhaal, 34, has been in films including “The Dark Knight.” She earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for 2009’s “Crazy Heart.”

The 41-year-old Sarsgaard has been been in movies such as “Shattered Glass” and “Green Lantern.”

Second season OK’d for ‘Girls’ and ‘Veep’

NEW YORK

“Veep” is getting a second term on HBO, as is the comedy “Girls.”

The pay-cable network said Monday that both of the comedies, which debuted this spring, will get second seasons. HBO ordered 10-episode seasons for both.

“Girls” has received rapturous reviews. It was created by Lena Dunham, who stars as one of four young women in an up-to-date coming-of-age story based in New York City.

Reviews for “Veep” were mixed, but the star power of Julia Louis-Dreyfus initially brought in more viewers than “Girls.”

Louis-Dreyfus plays Vice President Selina Meyer, forced to endure the ritual humiliations of being second-in-command.

Vindicator wire reports