Nominations for Poker Hall of Fame now open

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Nominations for the Poker Hall of Fame have officially opened today and will remain open through Friday, 11 December at WSOP.com/PHOF. All poker enthusiasts across the country and globe are encouraged to nominate those they feel most worthy of meeting the Poker Hall of Fame criteria:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40-years-old at 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.

The 2019 finalists, all whom remain eligible for induction include: Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow and Huckleberry Seed. The open nomination process on WSOP.com is meant to identify other worthy nominees to fill out the finalist ballot, which will include 8-10 individuals.

On Wednesday, 16 December, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. will announce the finalist list, which will be delivered to the 32 living Hall of Fame members to cast their votes. Each Hall of Famer will have ten (10) total points to allocate as they see fit across the finalist nominees. In 2020, as was the case from 1980-2004, only one honoree will be inducted. The 2020 inductee will be announced Wednesday, 30 December just prior to the WSOP Main Event finale.

In 2019, Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim become the 57th and 58th individuals to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

The entire list of 58 Poker Hall of Fame members includes (alphabetical):

• Tom Abdo ‘82
• Crandell Addington ‘05
• Bobby Baldwin ‘03
• Billy Baxter ‘06
• Lyle Berman ‘02
• Joe Bernstein ‘83
• Benny Binion ‘90
• Jack Binion ‘05
• Bill Boyd ‘81
• Doyle Brunson ‘88
• Todd Brunson ‘16
• Johnny Chan ‘02
• T.J. Cloutier ‘06
• Nick Dandolos ‘79
• Eric Drache ‘12
• Barbara Enright ‘07
• Mori Eskandani ‘18
• Fred “Sarge” Ferris ‘89
• Henry Green ‘86
• T “Blondie” Forbes ‘80
• Barry Greenstein ‘11
• Jennifer Harman ‘15
• Dan Harrington ‘10
• Murph Harrold ‘84
• Phil Hellmuth ‘07
• John Hennigan ‘18
• James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok ‘79
• Red Hodges ‘85
• Edmond Hoyle ‘79
• Phil Ivey ‘17
• Linda Johnson ‘11
• Berry Johnston ‘04
• John Juanda ‘15
• Jack Keller ‘93
• Jack McClelland ‘14
• Felton McCorquodale ‘79
• Tom McEvoy ‘13
• Chris Moneymaker ‘19
• Roger Moore ‘97
• Carlos Mortensen ‘16
• Johnny Moss ‘79
• Daniel Negreanu ‘14
• Scotty Nguyen ‘13
• David Oppenheim ‘10
• Henry Orenstein ‘08
• Walter “Puggy” Pearson ‘87
• Julius Oral Popwell ‘96
• Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston ‘92
• David “Chip” Reese ‘91
• Brian “Sailor” Roberts ‘12
• Erik Seidel ‘10
• Mike Sexton ‘09
• Jack “Treetop” Straus ‘88
• Duane “Dewey” Tomko ‘08
• David “Devilfish” Ulliott ‘17
• Stu “The Kid” Ungar ‘01
• Red Winn ‘79
• Sid Wyman ‘79