As the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event enters into its final week before taking its break for the November Nine, Harrah’s and WSOP officials have opened up the process of public nominations for the 2010 Poker Hall of Fame.
As with last year’s nomination process, the public is invited to visit the WSOP website to enter a nomination for who should be inducted in 2010. Each person has only one vote, making the nomination process difficult for the fans of the game. On September 1st, Harrah’s and WSOP officials will tally the voting and announce who will be eligible for inclusion in the Poker Hall of Fame. This list is normally ten players, but as with last year’s dropping of Full Tilt Poker’s Tom “durrrr” Dwan from the nominated list due to not meeting the requirement for “standing the test of time,” it can sometimes be smaller.
Once the top ten nominees have been announced, the 16 living Poker Hall of Fame members and a similar number of media personnel will decide which players are inducted. In a change from the past, the top two vote getters will be inducted during the play of the November Nine this year. Previously, it took 75% of the vote to be inducted into the Hall, leading to only one player, World Poker Tour host, PartyPoker spokesman, and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Mike Sexton, to be enshrined in 2009. It was the first time since 2004 that there was only one inductee, when 1986 World Champion Berry Johnston was honored.
Poker News Daily’s Dan Cypra, who held a vote on last year’s media panel (this year’s panel has yet to be determined), has several ideas as to who should be on the roster of nominees for 2010. “There are five people who I believe meet the criteria that is set for the Poker Hall of Fame,” Cypra stated. “Some of them were part of the process last year, but there are a couple of players whom I believe have met the requirements and deserve induction.”
Cypra noted that 2009 nominees Tom McEvoy (1983 World Champion and 2009 Champions’ Invitational winner), eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel, and Team PokerStars pro Barry Greenstein (“If only everyone had his generosity,” Cypra mentioned) should be reconsidered in 2010. “They exceed the criteria for induction in the Poker Hall of Fame and are more than deserving of the honor,” Cypra said. He also picked out two players that weren’t a part of the ten nominees in 2009 for inclusion on this year’s nominee list.
“Huck Seed has been one of the best players in poker for more than a decade,” Cypra observed. “With his previous win in the Main Event (1996), his victory this year in the 2010 Tournament Of Champions, and his record at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship (eight cashes and the 2009 championship), Huck is deserving of a nomination.” The other player that Cypra would choose is 2001 WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen. “Carlos should be included because he is the only person to have won both the World Poker Tour Championship and the WSOP Main Event,” Cypra observed. “He is the leading money winner in the history of the WPT and has played in the highest stakes games around the world, exceeding the criteria for nomination.”
Cypra believes it still is too soon to induct some of the younger superstars of the poker world that were nominated in 2009 and also sees some drawbacks with deserving nominees from last year: “Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, while well qualified for the Poker Hall of Fame, are still too young (they are both in their 30s). In the case of players such as Scotty Nguyen and Men “The Master” Nguyen, there is some controversy in their past that could hurt them. They would stand a very good chance of being elected, however, if they can get past the fan nominations.”
The Poker Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to honor those who have become true legends of the game. In honoring players, casino executives, and innovators for their contributions to the sport of poker, the Poker Hall of Fame is one of the most exclusive “clubs” that a professional in the poker industry can be inducted into, numbering 37 men and one woman (Barbara Enright). Prior to last year, the process of choosing who would be inducted was determined behind closed doors.
The qualifications that a person must meet for inclusion in the Poker Hall of Fame are highly difficult to attain. First, a player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition and at high stakes. There must be a consistency to their game and the player would have to earn the respect of their poker playing peers. Finally, there is the “stand the test of time” qualification, with many of the poker players inducted into the Hall of Fame having put in 30+ years into the game. For those that are not players, but influential executives or innovators, the requirement is to have “contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.”
