• Poker Hall Of Fame Inductee Phil
• Baseball Hall Of Fame Induction
• Poker Hall Of Fame Inductees By Year
• Wsop Hall Of Fame
• Nascar Hall Of Fame Induction

Induction into the Poker Hall of Fame is considered one of the biggest and most prestigious honors in the game of poker. The Grand Old Man of Poker Johnny Moss and Nick “Nick the Greek” Dandolos were among the first players to be inducted into the club. Two new players have been enshrined into the Poker Hall of Fame (PhOF). Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim became the 57 th and 58 th inductees, joining an elite list of the most influential individuals in poker. Thirty living Poker Hall of Fame members alongside a group of 21 media personalities.

The 10 finalists for the 2019 Poker Hall of Fame class were announced by the World Series of Poker on Sunday, June 23. Up to two of these legends of the game will be inducted this year.

The finalists are: Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Eli Elezra,Antonio Esfandiari,Chris Ferguson,Ted Forrest,Mike Matusow,David Oppenheim,Chris Moneymaker, and Huck Seed. The list of 10 was created after the public nomination process and subsequent vetting by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council.

Nine out of the ten finalists have been previously nominated, with Antonio Esfandiari being the only new candidate making a debut this year. This is the first year that ‘The Magician’ is eligible, having turned 40 in December of 2018. Esfandiari is a three-time bracelet winner, and the WSOP’s all-time money leader with $21,835,100 in earnings at the series.

Jul 12, 2018  The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council would like to recognize and congratulate the other 2018 finalists, all whom remain eligible for future induction: Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Bruno Fitoussi, Mike Matusow, Chris Moneymaker, David Oppenheim, Matt Savage and Huckleberry Seed. As many as two players can be elected each year and it’s a good bet that a pair of the 10 hopefuls will be inducted after voting is conducted by 30 Poker Hall of Famers and 21 members of poker media. The results will be announced on July 15 in conjunction with 2019 WSOP Main Event final table festivities.

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According to the WSOP, the criteria for induction is as follows:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at the time of nomination
• Played for high stakes
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
  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.

A panel of 30 Hall of Fame members and 21 poker industry media members will vote on who is to be inducted, with the final ballots due by July 8. The 2019 Class of the Poker Hall of Fame will be announced on July 15 as a part of the ESPN broadcast of the WSOP main event final table.

In 2018 John Hennigan and Mori Eskandani became the 55th and 56th inductees.

The WSOP provided the following info about the nominated players:

Poker Hall Of Fame Inductee Phil

CHRISBJORIN

Bjorin, a 71-year-old Swedish-born poker player who now resides in London, England, has earned more than $5.7 million playing poker in his distinguished career. The two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner sits eighth on the all-time WSOP cash list with 94 and ranks second all-time in WSOP Main Event cashes with nine. A model of consistency, Bjorin has cashed for six-figures in 19 different calendar years. He sits second on Sweden’s all-time money list.

DAVIDCHIU

Born in China, David Chiu moved to the United States when he was an 18-year-old exchange student. Originally a restaurateur in Colorado, Chiu first started in poker as a dealer before transitioning into one of the most successful tournament players in poker history.

The 58-year-old is a five-time WSOP gold bracelet winner with wins in Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, and Omaha Eight or Better and cashes in 74 WSOP events. Chiu’s most recent bracelet victory came in 2013 at a stacked $2,500 Stud final table where he defeated the likes of Michael Mizrachi, Frank Kassela and Scott Seiver to earn his fifth bracelet. Chiu’s success extends beyond the WSOP though, and also includes a memorable victory over Gus Hansen in the 2008 WPT World Championship. That win earned Chiu an impressive $3.3 million and, over the course of his career, Chiu has raked in more than $8 million in career tournament earnings since he first started playing tournaments back in 1996.

ELIELEZRA

Eliahu “Eli” Elezra, is a 58-year-old Israeli poker professional now residing in Las Vegas. The former lieutenant in the Israeli army picked up the game after suffering a leg injury during the Lebanon War in 1982. While bedridden, the boredom led to cards and it now leads to a finalist list for the Poker Hall of Fame. But not before several jobs and business ventures, including gutting fish in Alaska and opening 30-minute photo processing shops in Las Vegas. Elezra is mostly known in poker circles for high stakes cash game action, but with a poker career spanning 20 years, the affable Elezra has also won four WSOP gold bracelets, a WPT title, amassed 64 WSOP cashes and more than $3.7 million in tournament winnings. The married father of five is now a long-time Las Vegas resident and has been a regular in the poker scene here for two decades.

ANTONIOESFANDIARI

Esfandiari, known as “The Magician” from his previous occupation, is the only new finalist added to this year’s list. He became first-time eligible in 2019 after turning 40 late last year.

Esfandiari may be best known for winning the inaugural WSOP Big One for One Drop $1 million buy-in tournament and its $18.346 million first-place prize, but the Magician has had a terrific tournament career since taking up the game in 2002. He sits ninth on the all-time money list with more than $27 million in winnings, including three WSOP gold bracelets and two WPT titles. The Iranian-born Esfandiari is known for his talkative and outgoing personality at the tables and has even turned that charm into part-time work as a color analyst on ESPNWSOP telecasts.

CHRISFERGUSON

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson has been playing poker since 1993 and playing it well. He’s won over $9 million playing tournament poker, including winning the WSOP Main Event over Poker Hall of Famer TJ Cloutier in 2000 for $1.5 million.

The 56-year-old has his doctoral degree in computer science. Ferguson has 129 career WSOP cashes, good for second all-time, trailing only Poker Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth.

TEDFORREST

A six-time WSOP gold bracelet winner, Forrest captured his latest bracelet by slaying Phil Hellmuth heads up to win the Seven Card Razz event at the 2014 WSOP. The 54-year-old New York native has won more than $6.3 million during his career spanning three decades. Forrest’s first cash at the WSOP was a victory at the 1993 WSOP when he won Event #11, the $5,000 buy-in Limit Seven Card Stud event. But if that wasn’t a coming out party, it only took two days longer to cement his name in poker circles. He went on to win Events 12 and 13 too – incredibly winning three WSOP gold bracelets in three consecutive events in three variants of poker – the first and only time that has occurred in WSOP history. Forrest’s resume is littered with success in every major variant of poker, and he’s captured a WPT and National Heads Up title. He’s also a noted cash game player, even taking part in the famed high stakes heads up cash games with Andy Beal.

MIKEMATUSOW

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has plenty to talk about when it comes to his poker accomplishments. The 51-year-old is a four-time bracelet winner with more than $9.5 million in career tournament earnings. A poker dealer turned poker pro, Matusow has final tabled the WSOP Main Event twice in 2001 and 2005, made 15 other WSOP final tables, and appeared at five WPT final tables. Never one to bite his tongue, Matusow developed a reputation of being a tough player and a tough talker, as he frequently speaks freely at the tables. The Mouth is a four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner and has also won the NBC Heads Up Championship.

CHRISMONEYMAKER

Baseball Hall Of Fame Induction

“This is beyond fairy tale,” said Norman Chad. “It’s inconceivable!” That was in 2003 and he was talking about an accountant from Tennessee who was playing in his first live poker tournament after winning his entry into the event in an online satellite for $39. But it wasn’t just any event. It was the world championship of poker, the 2003 WSOP Main Event, where first place was $2.5 million and ESPN cameras were everywhere. It’s often said that poker is divided into two eras, pre-Moneymaker, and post-Moneymaker. And that’s all because 43-year-old Chris Moneymaker was able to capture the crown in 2003 at age 27. With hole cards being shown on ESPN for the first time, viewers at home were enamored by the “Aww shucks Accountant” who bluffed and bullied back at the pros on that fateful 2003 run. What followed Chris’ victory was a Tonight Show appearance, wide media coverage and a boom poker had never seen before, aptly now called the “Moneymaker effect.” It’s inconceivable to find someone’s first live cash in poker come with a victory and world championship, but that is the case with Chris. He’s been juggling family and poker ever since, serving as one of the sport’s greatest ambassadors and cashing in tournaments every year since 2003. He has now amassed $3.7 million in earnings, cashing 83 different times on four different continents. Suffice to say, Chris’ victory that day changed the course of poker history.

Poker Hall Of Fame Inductees By Year

DAVIDOPPENHEIM

A Los Angeles cash game pro, Oppenheim, 46 is considered one of the most feared cash game players in the game. While his tournament career shows $1,866,190 in career winnings, including his most notable moment in the 2010 WSOP Poker Players Championship where he finished third for $603,348. David’s career spans a quarter-century, in which he has gained proficiency in all the mixed games and continues to build upon his reputation as one of the savviest pros on the felt.

HUCKLEBERRYSEED

It isn’t just Huckleberry Seed’s tall frame that helps him stand out among his competition at the table. The California native and Caltech alum is a four-time bracelet winner with $7.6 million in career tournament earnings. There is truly nothing Seed, 50, can’t play at the tables, as his varied list of results include bracelets in Razz and PLO, a victory in the NBC Heads-Up Championship, two final table appearances in the $50K Poker Players Championship, a win in the WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2010, and, of course, winning the WSOP Main Event in 1996. Since Seed first started playing tournament poker back in 1990, he has posted six-figures worth of results in 22 different years.

Here is a look at all 56 players inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1979:

(Photo: Cardschat.com)

It was a high-class shortlist up for consideration this year, but after the votes were tallied, Phil Ivey and Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott were named as the 53rd and 54th inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Wsop Hall Of Fame

Ten players were nominated by the public, including Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest and Huck Seed, but the 27 living Poker Hall of Fame members, as well as an 18-person Blue Ribbon Media Panel, decided that Ivey and Ulliott – who died two years ago, were the most deserving of the honour, joining the likes of Stu Ungar, Jennifer Harman, Johnny Chan and Jack Binion. Sarah vaughan all of me.

Phil Ivey said of his award:

“I want to thank the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame as well as the media who voted for me to be part of the Poker Hall of Fame. It’s an honor to be inducted alongside legends like Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson.”

A household name even to many who don’t play poker, Ivey was described by the PHOF Governing Council as “the youngest player in WSOP history to amass 10 victories, and just this year turned the required minimum age of 40 to be considered for Poker Hall of Fame induction.”

Ivey added:

“I love the game of poker and the game has done a lot for me. I am one of the lucky people who has been able to make a living playing a game which was always my passion. Thankfully, I’m just as passionate about the game today as when I first stepped into Binion’s Horseshoe to play my first-ever WSOP. Thank you to my family, my friends, and all the poker fans across the world that supported me on this journey.”

Dave ‘Devilfish Ulliott “gets the ultimate recognition in poker for his role in growing the game in England”, stated the Governing Council, who described him as “a fixture on Late Night Poker throughout Europe, which helped show the game of poker on television… a true character who captivated audiences and kept them tuning in. He won a WSOP gold bracelet at the 1997 World Series of Poker and was a fixture at poker tournaments for more than two decades.”

Ulliott, who won over $6million in his poker career, had a ‘colourful’ background of safe-cracking, theft and various run-ins with the law. When he discovered poker, however, his life changed forever. His family said of his induction:

Nascar Hall Of Fame Induction

“As a family we would like to thank the general public, media and current Poker Hall of Fame members that voted David into the Poker Hall of Fame. We know he will be up there strumming on his guitar and probably asking what took so long! How he might say it - I think you all know! There isn't a day that goes past when we don’t think of him and miss him but today we are so proud and delighted that he takes his rightful place in poker history.”

The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council also made a point to “recognize and congratulate” the other 2017 finalists, all whom remain eligible for future induction: David Chiu, Mori Eskandani, Ted Forrest, Thor Hansen, Mike Matusow, Max Pescatori, Matt Savage and Huckleberry Seed.