Poker Hall of Fame finalists announced

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Following nearly two weeks of open nominations for the Poker Hall of Fame, today the list of ten finalists was announced. These finalists will now be considered by living members of the hall of fame, who will allocate a ballot of 10 total points to any or all of the nominees to decide who will be inducted. The 2020 Finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Patrik Antonius
• Lon McEachern and Norman Chad
• Eli Elezra
• Antonio Esfandiari
• Chris Ferguson
• Ted Forrest
• Mike Matusow
• Matt Savage
• Isai Scheinberg
• Huckleberry Seed

There are three new finalists in the 2020 class, including Lon McEachern and Norman Chad becoming the first “duo” nominated for induction due to their outstanding contributions to the WSOP broadcasts on ESPN, Patrik Antonius and Isai Scheinberg. Six of the nominees were also finalists in 2019, with another, long-time tournament director Matt Savage, a finalist in previous years.

The Poker Hall of Fame criteria remains the same as previous years,

• 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 2020 inductees will be announced Wednesday, 30 December prior to the WSOP Main Event finale at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

It is expected that a formal induction ceremony will take place later in 2021.

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