Established in 1979, the Poker Hall of Fame (PHOF) is the hall of fame of professional poker. Every year, the hall honors and recognizes some of poker’s most influential players and other notable contributors to the game. Keeping up the tradition, the world’s most prestigious poker brand, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) recently announced nominations for the 2020 Poker Hall of Fame.
The nominations officially opened on December 1 and will remain open through December 11 at WSOP.com/PHOF. Poker fans from across the globe are invited to make nominations for the Poker Hall of Fame. This year, only one honoree will be inducted, as was the case from 1980-2004.
Criteria For Poker Hall of Fame induction
The Hall of Fame was created in 1979 by Benny Binion and was acquired by Caesars Entertainment along with the WSOP in 2004. For the Poker Hall of Fame, nominees must meet the following criteria:
> Played against acknowledged top competition.
> Be at least 40 years old at the time of nomination.
> Played for high stakes.
> Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.
> Career stood the test of time.
> For non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
2019 PHOF Candidates Still Eligible; Only One Inductee Planned For 2020!
The 2019 finalists included Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow, and Huckleberry Seed. They all remain open for induction again this year.
The open nomination process on WSOP.com is meant to identify other worthy nominees to fill out the finalist ballot. The list of finalists will include up to 10 individuals. On December 16, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. will announce the finalist list, which will be sent to the 32 living Hall of Fame members to cast their votes. Each Hall of Famer will have 10 total points to allocate as they see fit among the finalist nominees. As mentioned above, this year only one honoree will be inducted.
The 2020 inductee will be announced on December 30 just prior to the WSOP Main Event Finale.
Who Have Been Elected So Far
A total of 58 Poker Hall of Fame members have been elected so far. In 2019, Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim become the 57th and 58th Hall of Fame members. The hall not only includes modern names like Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu but also historic figures like Edmond Hoyle and Wild Bill Hickok. Here is a quick look at the all Poker Hall of Fame 58 members elected so far:
1.Tom Abdo ‘82
2.Crandell Addington ‘05
3.Bobby Baldwin ‘03
4.Billy Baxter ‘06
5.Lyle Berman ‘02
6.Joe Bernstein ‘83
7.Benny Binion ‘90
8.Jack Binion ‘05
9.Bill Boyd ‘81
10.Doyle Brunson ‘88
11.Todd Brunson ‘16
12.Johnny Chan ‘02
13.T.J. Cloutier ‘06
14.Nick Dandolos ‘79
15.Eric Drache ‘12
16.Barbara Enright ‘07
17.Mori Eskandani ‘18
18.Fred “Sarge” Ferris ‘89
19.Henry Green ‘86
20.T “Blondie” Forbes ‘80
21.Barry Greenstein ‘11
22.Jennifer Harman ‘15
23.Dan Harrington ‘10
24.Murph Harrold ‘84
25.Phil Hellmuth ‘07
26.John Hennigan ‘18
27.James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok ‘79
28.Red Hodges ‘85
29.Edmond Hoyle ‘79
30.Phil Ivey ‘17
31.Linda Johnson ‘11
32.Berry Johnston ‘04
33.John Juanda ‘15
34.Jack Keller ‘93
35.Jack McClelland ‘14
36.Felton McCorquodale ‘79
37.Tom McEvoy ‘13
38.Chris Moneymaker ‘19
39.Roger Moore ‘97
40.Carlos Mortensen ‘16
41.Johnny Moss ‘79
42.Daniel Negreanu ‘14
43.Scotty Nguyen ‘13
44.David Oppenheim ‘10
45.Henry Orenstein ‘08
46.Walter “Puggy” Pearson ‘87
47.Julius Oral Popwell ‘96
48.Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston ‘92
49.David “Chip” Reese ‘91
50.Brian “Sailor” Roberts ‘12
51.Erik Seidel ‘10
52.Mike Sexton ‘09
53.Jack “Treetop” Straus ‘88
54.Duane “Dewey” Tomko ‘08
55.David “Devilfish” Ulliott ‘17
56.Stu “The Kid” Ungar ‘01
57.Red Winn ‘79
58.Sid Wyman ‘79
For more details on the Poker Hall of Fame, you can visit http://www.wsop.com/pokerhalloffame/.