Poker Fans Desperate for WSOP Poker Hall of Fame Changes
Every year, the World Series of Poker opens public nominations for the Poker Hall of Fame. From that list of submissions, the WSOP then reveals a list of the top ten qualified nominees. And all living Hall of Fame members then vote for the one person that will be inducted that year.
Every year, someone etches his or her place in poker history through induction into the Poker Hall of Fame. He or she undoubtedly meets the criteria and is honored with a ceremony, a token of the occasion, and a celebratory photo on the wall of the dedicated Hall of Fame space at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
And every year, the poker public is left feeling that the Poker Hall of Fame missed an opportunity to honor more of poker’s greats. Further, the people nominated year after year – after year – but not the recipients of the most votes end up on an ever-expanding list of people who should have earned their place in the HOF by public demand alone.
It’s time for a change.
Poker HOF Nomination Criteria
The criteria that nominees must meet to be considered for a Poker Hall of Fame nomination is mostly subjective. The only requirement that is explicit and inarguable is age. The person must be at least 40 years old at the time of his or her nomination.
Everything else is subjective:
- Must have played against acknowledged top competition.
- Must have played for high stakes.
- Must have played consistently well.
- Must have gained the respect of his or her peers.
- Must have stood the test of time.
Non-players can also receive public nominations if they have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker with “indelible positive and lasting results.”
Poker HOF Nomination Process
Near the beginning of each WSOP summer series, the WSOP opens a web portal for the public to nominate people for Hall of Fame consideration. This process continues for several weeks.
When the nomination window closes, the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council, the members of which have never been revealed, vet the list of submitted nominees. They tally the votes of all qualified submissions, and they release the names of the top ten vote-getters to the public. This is only for information purposes, as the public’s role in the process is already over.
The list of ten finalists goes to the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame. Each one has ten votes to cast in any way they choose – one for each, ten for one, or a strategic mix.
On the day of the now-annual tournament in the WSOP lineup, the Poker Hall of Fame No Limit Hold’em Bounty bracelet event, the winner is honored with an induction ceremony.
Poker Fans Have Spoken
In 2024, Patrik Antonius received his second public nomination, and the Hall of Fame members chose him for this year’s honoree. Last year, Brian Rast joined the Hall of Fame in his second year of public nomination.
Meanwhile, numerous people had been nominated multiple times and did not make it in. Some of the most prominent examples include:
- Mike Matusow (10 nominations)
- Matt Savage (9 nominations)
- Ted Forrest (7 nominations)
- Isai Scheinberg (5 nominations)
Those who have been voted up for consideration for at least three years include Kathy Liebert, Josh Arieh, and Lon McEachern and Norman Chad (as a commentating team). Other names regularly appearing in discussions about Hall of Fame honors include Bertrand Grospellier, Bill Smith, Barny Boatman, John Cernuto, Michael Mizrachi, and Jeremy Ausmus.
One Inductee Per Year
When the Hall of Fame began in 1979, it did so with the induction of seven names. From that point on, there was one person inducted each year until the 2000s. There were two people inducted in 2002, two in 2005, and two for most of the subsequent years during and after the poker boom until 2020. That pandemic year was different for many reasons, including reverting back to the one-inductee-per-year practice. That was Huck Seed in 2020, Eli Elezra in 2021, Layne Flack in 2022, Brian Rast in 2023, and Patrik Antonius in 2024.
In past years, the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame web page noted that only one person would be chosen for the honors each year. At some point, however, the wording changed to note, “The Poker Hall of Fame traditionally elects one or two members annually.” This could indicate that the WSOP is open to honoring the top two vote-getters in a single year moving forward.
Possible Solutions
If the WSOP is listening to poker fans, the Hall of Fame will resume the induction of at least two persons (or teams) each year.
Another option is to automatically induct those who have been nominated five or more times. This would put Matusow, Savage, Forrest, and Scheinberg into the HOF, which is where the fans have unequivocally deemed them ready. As a one-time event, this could help the Hall of Fame catch up to honor people in the game that are clearly respected and valued by poker fans. It could also be a new part of the criteria, that if a person or team is nominated at least five times, they automatically receive the honor of induction.
Perhaps each year should present a list of ten nominees and then induct the winner of the Hall of Fame membership vote and also the winner of another round of public voting.
Even this could go up for a public vote.
Regardless, the final decisions left solely to the living members of the Hall of Fame gives them power that perhaps was unintended. Many of the HOF members are friends, colleagues, and even backers or former backers of each other. There are consistent rumors that some members coordinate to distribute their votes each year so that their friends can be inducted.
Change is necessary to uphold the integrity of the Hall of Fame and the respect it should garner.
WSOP Makes the Rules
The criteria for nominating members of the poker world for Hall of Fame nomination is clear. However, there is something often overlooked, something that sways poker fans in a perhaps-subliminal way.
The HOF is the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame. The World Series of Poker owns it. The WSOP links its Hall of Fame members to their WSOP profiles only, which offers very little biographical information and only their WSOP results.
The World Series of Poker can do anything it wishes, as it does own the rights to the HOF, but there is much information missing from a fair voting process.
- Fairness would mean linking HOF members’ and nominees’ names to their Hendon Mob profiles, which provide a full list of live poker wins and accomplishments.
- Fairness would provide access to potential nominees’ online poker accolades and off-the-felt accomplishments, such as authored books, GPI honors, and other awards.
- Transparency would reveal the names of the people on the Hall of Fame Governing Council.
- Fairness would provide an avenue for people to put themselves or others into the public eye for consideration in a way that isn’t limited to social media posts.
There are ways to change the Poker Hall of Fame to make it more inclusive and reflective of poker as a whole, regardless of its ownership.
