If you have not yet registered your nomination for the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame, you have just one week left to make your voice heard.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to recognize the most successful players of the past and those who had made a significant contribution to the growth of poker. Legends such as Doyle Brunson, Dan Harrington, Johnny Moss and Phil Hellmuth grace the WSOP Hall of Fame; and last year Daniel Negreanu was a popular choice to join the elite.
The WSOP inducts further members to its Hall of Fame each year based on nominations suggested by the public, and anybody over the age of 21 is eligible to suggest a nominee based on the following criteria:
- The nominee must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
- The nominee must have played for high stakes (what constitutes “high stakes” is not defined)
- The nominee must be a minimum of forty years old at the time of nomination
- The nominee must have played consistently well and gained the respect of his peers
- He or she must have “stood the test of time” – again, no definition of what this means
- If the nominee is a non-poker player (for example former Bellagio TD Jack McClelland was also inducted last year), he or she must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game.
Members of the public can voice their opinion on who should be inducted into the WSOP Hall of Fame during the 2015 November Nine celebrations by visiting the WSOP´s “Poker Hall of Fame” web page and registering their nomination. The opportunity to include your favorite player or poker personality in the list of nominees closes at midnight on Saturday August 15 – one week from tomorrow.
Who is In the Frame for a Nomination?
If you are struggling to think of a suitable player or poker personality who deserves to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, here are a few of the nominees for whom there has been a lot of support for on social media.
- Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott: Dave Ulliott meets all the WSOP criteria to be a “Hall of Famer”, having played against the toughest competition at the highest stakes for more than three decades. The Devilfish was one of the first European poker personalities but sadly passed away earlier this year from colon cancer.
- Bruno Fitoussi: Bruno Fitoussi is another player who has “stood the test of time” and is widely acknowledged as the player who introduced Texas Hold´em into France by presenting it as a mainstream sport on French TV. Fitoussi made the Hall of Fame shortlist in 2014.
- Jennifer Harman: Jennifer Harman is another player who made it onto the Hall of Fame shortlist in 2014. More than just a “token” nomination as a female player, Harman deserves to be considered for the considerable effort she puts into raising money for charity.
- Isai Scheinberg: Isai Scheinberg, the founder of PokerStars, is a controversial choice being suggested by a number of established players – not least Terence Chan, who has written a very long entry on the 2+2 poker forum supporting his argument. A worthy nominee? You can help decide!
What Happens When the Nominations Close?
When the opportunity to nominate a player for the WSOP Hall of Fame closes next Saturday, all of the nominations are assessed by a “Nominating Committee”. The Committee narrows down the list to a “Top Ten”, which is then distributed to existing Hall of Famers and a panel made up of representatives of the poker media.
The existing Hall of Famers and members of the panel rate each nominee from 1 to 10 and the ballot papers are returned to a Poker Hall of Fame “Governing Council”. The council adds up all of the votes and announces who will be inducted into the WSOP Hall of Fame prior to the climax of the WSOP Main Event in November.
The list of the “Top Ten” nominees should be known around the second week in September.
