Poker Hall of Fame

Poker Hall of Fame logoIndustry Gaming
Founded Las Vegas, Nevada (1979)
Headquarters Las Vegas, Nevada
Key people Jack Binion, Creator
Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner
Owner(s) Harrah's Entertainment (current)
Binion's Horseshoe (former)
Website Hall of Fame

The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker playing in the United States. Founded and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players and to serve as a tourist attraction to his casino.[1][2] Binion was known for the creative ways in which he marketed his casino. In 1949, he convinced Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek to play high stakes poker heads up where the public could watch them.[3] In 1970, he invited a group of poker players to compete in what would be the first World Series of Poker (WSOP). When Harrah's Entertainment acquired the rights to the WSOP in 2004, it also assumed ownership of the Poker Hall of Fame.[4] Today, membership in the Poker Hall of Fame is handled directly by the WSOP.

Although many of the best known poker players in the world are part of the Hall of Fame, very little is known about some of the earlier members. Many of the earliest pioneers in poker were road gamblers who developed reputations at the cash game before the advent of tournaments. As of 2009, 38 people have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Fifteen are still living.[5]

The hall no longer has a physical location.[4]

Requirements

Before starting the 2009 WSOP, the WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in 2009, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public. This move is intended to increase interest in the Hall. Almost immediately after this decision was announced, Party Poker started an on-line campaign to get its representative and World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton elected to the Hall.[6][7][8] Other poker sites, namely PokerStars' Tom McEvoy, followed suit by pushing their own poker professionals.[9] The requirements for the Poker Hall of Fame are:

  • A gambler must have played poker against acknowledged top competition,
  • Played for high stakes,
  • Played consistently well, gained the respect of peers,
  • And stood the test of time.
  • Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.[4][10]

After receiving the nominations, the WSOP announced at the WSOP Main Event the ten candidates for 2009: Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Mike Sexton, Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington, Scotty Nguyen, Tom Dwan, Barry Greenstein, Men Nguyen, and Daniel Negreanu.[11] When Chip Reese was inducted at the age of 40, he was the youngest person to join the hall.[1] Three of the finalists, Ivey (33), Negreanu (35), and Dwan (22), threatened that distinction. In August, the WSOP reviewed the nominations from the general public, and had the option to add any individuals it deemed worthy. Finally, the WSOP sent out ballots to each of the living Hall of Famers and a limited number of people in the media to vote for the 2009 class. Under election rules, the number of media ballots was limited to the number of voting members from the Hall of Fame. Any person who received at least 75% of the vote would be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Main Event Final Table in November 2009.[12] The only candidate to receive the required percentage of the vote was Sexton.

The award

Admission into the Poker Hall of Fame is considered one of the biggest honors in poker.[13] In his acceptance speech, T. J. Cloutier declared, "It's one of two things I've always wanted to win."[14] Barbara Enright, the only woman in the Hall, considers her induction to be a "lifetime achievement honor".[15]

Before being acquired by Harrah's Casino, R.S. Owens and Co was commissioned to design an award for Poker Hall of Famers. The award was an 8-inch-tall piece of glass with a hand of cards sandblasted at the bottom, the winner's name, and the words "Poker Hall of Fame" in a circle. The circle had a gold emblem bonded to the glass and had the Binion's Horseshoe Casino logo in it. There was a gold plated base with three gold-plated stacks of chips.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Poker Hall of Fame". PokerPage.
  2. ^ "Poker Hall of Fame". Poker News.
  3. ^ a b "World Series of Poker History". ESPN.
  4. ^ a b c "A Brief History of the Poker Hall of Fame". Harrah's Entertainment.
  5. ^ "Party Poker wants Sexton in Hall of Fame". Poker Listing. 2009-05-27.
  6. ^ Murphy, Stephen (2009-05-29). "Nomination Process for the Poker Hall of Fame Open". CardPlayer Magazine.
  7. ^ Zusman, Joe (2009-05-27). "Mike Sexton Deserves Place In Poker’s Hall of Fame". PartyPoker.
  8. ^ "PartyPoker Pushes for Mike Sexton's Induction to Poker Hall of Fame". Poker Pages. 2009-05-28.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Tom (2009-06-22). "PokerStars Pushes Tom McEvoy for Poker Hall of Fame". PokerDailyNews.
  10. ^ a b c d Shapiro, Max (2007-08-15). "Barbara and the Poker Hall of Fame". CardPlayer Magazine.
  11. ^ Murphy, Stephen (2009-07-09). "Ivey, Seidel, Sexton, and McEvoy Make Poker Hall of Fame List". Cardplayer Magazine.
  12. ^ "Poker Hall Of Fame Voting Guidelines". Poker Pages.
  13. ^ West, Justin. "Baxter, Cloutier Admitted to Poker Hall of Fame". Poker Pages.
  14. ^ "The Press Conference Part 1: This Year's Poker Hall of Famers". Poker Listing. 2006-08-01.
  15. ^ Tuscaloosa, Johnny (2007-05-27). "Hellmuth, Enright join Poker Hall of Fame". Poker Works.
  16. ^ "Poker Hall of Fame Custom Award". R.S. Owens.

Links