He's a throwback to another era; to the American depression when legendary figures such as Titanic Thompson, Ky Laffoon and Jack Strauss, scoured the country clubs in search of pigeons. They are viewed as heroes by Walter Clyde Pearson - Pug to his friends - who has pictures of them adorning the walls of his modest abode in Las Vegas.

Now 72, Pug was once a scratch golfer and is still capable of shooting in the low 80s - which he needs to do if he is to continue making money as a hustler. A sign on the side of his house declares: "I'll play any man from any land at any game that he can name for any amount that I can count."

With a quiet chuckle, he talks about "these guys in their thirties that I play against. They have big egos and they can't figure out how a 72-year-old man keeps beating them. When people start thinking of those $100 bills flying out of their pockets, they lose their reflexes."

For Pug, winning is everything. Which probably explains why self-respecting players would give him and his ilk a wide berth. On seeing a miraculous recovery land on the green from heavy rough, an opponent accused Pug's caddie of throwing the ball, only to be told by the man himself: "You think I'd trust a freakin' caddie to throw the ball?"

"People are scared of me," he added. "They think I walk on water, and I could if I had to. If somebody bet me enough money, I would figure out a way to do it." All of which makes one wonder why he happens to be living in a 38-foot motorhome.