 He finished in 7th place at the 1983 World Series of Poker main event, earning $21,600, and two months before his death he won first place in Las Vegas at Amarillo Slim's No Limit Hold-em, earning $99,050.Jenkins was killed on April 16, 1989, by a shot to the back of his head, near Bastrop, Texas, while doing field research as part of his work on a biography of Edward Burleson, which was published posthumously, coauthored and completed by Kenneth Kesselus, a Texas historian and first cousin of Jenkins.Although shot in the back of the head, the sheriff declared it a suicide, claiming he somehow disposed of the gun which was never found.