In conjunction with the start of the 2021 World Series of Poker, the WSOP has opened up nominations for the 2021 Poker Hall of Fame Online Ballot.
Anybody can submit their nominees via a short form by including their name, email, nominees and the reason why the player should be nominated. The submissions will then be tabulated by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Body and whittled down to 10 nominations. Existing Poker Hall of Fame members — of which there are currently 32 members — will then vote from that list to induct one to the Poker Hall of Fame.
The inductee will be announced during the final table of the 2021 WSOP Main Event,
Criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame
In your submissions, poker fans are asked to select nominees that meet certain criteria. Nominees can be those in two main categories: poker players or non-poker players.
Poker players should ideally meet these qualifications:
- Be a player that has played poker against acknowledged top competition
- Played for high stakes
- Be at least 40 years of age at the time of nomination
- Played consistently well, gaming the respect of their peers
- Stood the test of time.
For non-players, they must have contributed to the overall growth and success of poker, “with indelible positive and lasting results.”
Who is in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Since 1979, the Poker Hall of Fame has inducted 59 people. In past years, two or more have been inducted but there is only one expected to be enshrined this year.
During the first year of induction, a wide variety of different poker personalities were welcomed including 9-time bracelet winner Johnny Moss, Nick Dandolos (inspired the WSOP), Felton McCorquodale (introduced Hold’em to Las Vegas), Red Winn, Sid Wyman (player and owner of several Las Vegas casinos), Wild Bill Hickok and Edmond Hoyle (who inspired the phrase “according to Hoyle” in card games).
In recent years, poker players have dominated the new inductees. Here is a list of personalities in the Poker Hall of Fame and what year they were inducted.
Poker Hall of Fame
| wdt_ID | year | Inductees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1979 | Johnny Moss, Nick Dandolos, Felton McCorquodale, Red Winn, Sid Wyman, Wild Bill Hickok, Edmond Hoyle |
| 2 | 1980 | Blondie Forbes |
| 3 | 1981 | Bill Boyd |
| 4 | 1982 | Tom Adbo |
| 5 | 1983 | Joe Bernstein |
| 6 | 1984 | Murphy Harrold |
| 7 | 1985 | Red Hodges |
| 8 | 1986 | Henry Green |
| 9 | 1987 | Walter Clyde Pearson |
| 10 | 1988 | Doyle Brunson, Jack Straus |
| 11 | 1989 | Fred Ferris |
| 12 | 1990 | Benny Binion |
| 13 | 1991 | David Reese |
| 14 | 1992 | Thomas Preston |
| 15 | 1993 | Jack Keller |
| 16 | 1994 | none |
| 17 | 1995 | Julius Oral Popwell |
| 18 | 1996 | none |
| 19 | 1997 | Roger Moore |
| 20 | 1998 | none |
| 21 | 1999 | none |
| 22 | 2000 | none |
| 23 | 2001 | Stu Ungar |
| 24 | 2002 | Lyle Berman |
| 25 | 2003 | Johnny Chan, Bobby Baldwin |
| 26 | 2004 | Berry Johnston |
| 27 | 2005 | Jack Binion, Crandell Addington |
| 28 | 2006 | TJ Cloutier, Billy Baxter |
| 29 | 2007 | Barbara Enright, Phil Hellmuth |
| 30 | 2008 | Dewey Tomko, Henry Orenstein |
| 31 | 2009 | Mike Sexton |
| 32 | 2010 | Erik Seidel, Dan Harrington |
| 33 | 2011 | Barry Greenstein, Linda Johnson |
| 34 | 2012 | Bryan Roberts |
| 35 | 2013 | Tom McEvoy, Scott Nguyen |
| 36 | 2014 | Jack McClelland, Daniel Negreanu |
| 37 | 2015 | Jennier Harman, John Juanda |
| 38 | 2016 | Todd Brunson, Carlos Mortensen |
| 39 | 2017 | David Ulliott, Phil Ivey |
| 40 | 2018 | Mori Eskandani, John Hennigan |
| 41 | 2019 | Chris Moneymaker, David Oppenheim |
| 42 | 2020 | Huck Seed |
| 43 | 2021 | Eli Elezra |
| year | Inductees |
