Eli Elezra Poker Hall of Fame

Lost in the spectacle of Koray Aldemir’s World Series of Poker Main Event win on Wednesday was that the Poker Hall of Fame revealed its latest inductee, which was announced prior to the final table.

The newest poker player to be enshrined is four-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra, who was selected by a committee of existing Hall of Famers.

Elezra thanked Chip Reece and Doyle Brunson for making Elezra the poker player that he is today. “To Chip and Doyle, I cannot thank you enough for teaching this fish to swim with the sharks.”

Israel’s Elezra was picked from a group that included Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Layne Flack, Ted Forrest, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, tournament director Matt Savage and PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg.

Elezra’s poker accomplishments

Elezra’s first WSOP bracelet came during the $3,000 World Championship 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo in 2007, the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball in 2013, the 2015 Seven Card Stud and the 2019 Seven Card Stud. Elezra also has 74 WSOP career poker cashes to his name, including seven during the 2021 World Series.

Elezra first recorded live tournament cash was in 1996 with his first WSOP cash happening in 1999 when he came in 7th during the $2,500 Limit Omaha event. Since then he has amassed nearly $4.6 million in cashes.

In addition to his four bracelets, Elezra also earned a World Poker Tour title when he took down the 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown. Elezra is also well known for his cash game prowess, being a frequent participant in “The Big Game” as well High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark appearances, which have made him a familiar face amongst casual poker fans.

Requirements for poker players to be considered to the Poker Hall of Fame include:

  • Must be at least 40 years of age
  • Poker player must have played against top competition
  • Played for high stakes
  • Played well and gained the respect of their peers
  • Stood the test of time

Poker Hall of Fame welcomes its 59 member

Elezra joins a diverse selection of poker personalities varying from Wild Bill Hickok to Doyle Brunson to Jack Binion to Daniel Negreanu. Of the 59 members of the Poker Hall of Fame, 32 of them are still living and get to take part in the process of selecting new inductees after nominations have been narrowed down.

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

Reaction to Eli Elezra’s induction to the Poker Hall of Fame

David Lappin commented on how Elezra’s induction to the hall of fame meant that he now had a bounty on his head during the Poker Hall of Fame tournament.

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