The Women in Poker Hall of Fame has announced the list of seven finalists for the Hall’s Class of 2022. The women are, in no particular order, Liv Boeree, Kristen Bicknell Foxen, Vanessa Selbst, Kara Scott, Jennifer Tilly, Terry King, and Angelica Hael.
The public nomination process began in mid-August and closed on September 1. From there, the list was culled to eliminate anyone who did not meet the following criteria:
1) Must have been active as a player or industry leader for at least ten years and be at least 35 years old.
2) Must have “made an impression on the industry in some significant way,” which is clearly subjective, but also makes perfect sense, as this is the Women in Poker Hall Fame
3) The nominee must be a proponent of women in poker
4) Must be approved by the WiPHoF Organization Committee and current Hall members
After jettisoning names that did not meet the requirements, the living members of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame narrowed the list to the seven finalists.
The current Hall of Famers, select media/industry members (once again, I am not one of them!), and the public now cast their votes for who they believe is the most deserving. This is the first year that the public can vote. The ballots work similar to those for the general Poker Hall of Fame. Each voter has ten votes to spread however they would like among the finalists. All ten can go to one person, five can go to one and five to another, you get the point.
The three top vote getters will be inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame on December 14 at the PokerGO Studios in Las Vegas.
This will be the first WiPHoF induction class in four years. The Hall normally elects new members every two years (since 2012, at least), but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 election. They could have still had an election since it is all electronic, but the induction ceremony is an important part of the process and celebration, so the powers that be opted to wait for a better time.
There are 21 members in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. The first class, in 2008, featured the elite of the elite in women’s poker, as one might guess, seeing as it was the first class. The inaugural Hall members were Barbara Enright, Linda Johnson, Marsha Waggoner, and Susie Isaacs. Maria Ho and Lupe Soto were the most recent women inducted, comprising the Class of 2018.
Voting began October 6 and runs through October 14.
