Candidates for 2009 Poker HOF released

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- After a five-week process that saw hundreds of votes cast weekly on WSOP.com, the public has made clear who they think should be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. It will now be up to the current Hall of Famers and a panel of media members to determine who actually does join this exclusive club.

The following represents the Top 10 nominated individuals at WSOP.com from May 26-July 2.

• TOM DWAN
• BARRY GREENSTEIN
• DAN HARRINGTON
• PHIL IVEY
• TOM McEVOY
• MEN NGUYEN
• SCOTTY NGUYEN
• DANIEL NEGREANU
• ERIK SEIDEL
• MIKE SEXTON

*Listed alphabetically without correlation to amount of nominations received

Now the process moves forward with the vetting of these candidates by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council, who will select the final list of candidates eligible for induction in 2009. That will be followed by the voting of the final nominees by current Hall of Fame members and a 15-person media panel. Only the 15 current Poker Hall of Fame members and the 15-person Media Panel cast votes for induction.

The criteria they will consider in their vote are as follows:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• 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.

The 2009 Class of the Poker Hall of Fame will be inducted as part of the World Series of Poker Main Event final table festivities in November.

41 different names received multiple nominations during the public nomination process. All of these individuals are still eligible for future consideration. Among the people receiving nominations, but not enough to continue on in the process this year were:

• Patrik Antonius
• Humberto Brenes
• Mike Caro
• Norman Chad
• Allen Cunningham
• Ivan Demidov
• Eric Drache
• Annie Duke
• John Duthie
• Sam Farha
• Chris Ferguson
• Ted Forrest
• Andy Glazer
• Bertrand Grospellier
• Gus Hansen
• Jennifer Harmon-Traniello
• Jay Heimowitz
• Rob Hollink
• Jesper Hougaard
• Phil Laak
• Howard Lederer
• Marcel Luske
• Mike Matusow
• Chris Moneymaker
• Luca Pagano
• Greg Raymer
• Matt Savage
• David Sklansky

An interesting side note to this process. Existing Poker Hall of Fame members still received multiple votes! Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Stu Ungar each had public nominations despite the fact they are already in the Poker Hall of Fame!