Tomko, Orenstein receive Hall of Fame honors

Dewey Tomko is one of the latest inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Something was noticeably absent from the bulk of the 2008 World Series of Poker this summer. There was no fanfare to announce this year's Poker Hall of Fame entries as bracelet winner after bracelet winner was found and the Main Event got under way.

It turns out the Hall of Fame wasn't forgotten; it was just postponed so that the players being honored this year would be inducted as the Main Event final table resumes play Nov. 9. The beneficiaries of the hoopla this year are Dewey Tomko and Henry Orenstein.

They will be enshrined into the Poker Hall of Fame Nov. 9 at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during the finale of the WSOP championship. The Hall of Fame ceremony and the final table will both be open to the public.

The two enter a virtual hall of fame that was established in 1979 and that includes some of poker's most influential players. The main criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame 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 nonplayers, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results

Tomko is a three-time WSOP bracelet winner, and he was also the Main Event runner-up twice. He made a good run in this year's Main Event as well, placing 23rd in what would be his 35th year, the longest consecutive participation record, of playing in the event.

His tournament success over the years has led to more than $4.8 million in tournament cashes.

Orenstein will enter the Poker Hall of Fame alongside Tomko. He's got a WSOP bracelet on his resume along with a couple of Main Event cashes, but his poker legacy has more to do with his inventions than it does his playing skills.

Orenstein holds more than 100 patents, including some for Sesame Street toys, Snoopy toys, the Transformers, and an invention that helped the game of poker skyrocket in popularity, the "hole card cam."

The hole cam helped make poker a television attraction since it allowed viewers to see the cards the players were holding. Orenstein's invention helped spur the rise in popularity of poker to all-new heights.

Viewers will also get a chance to see part of the ceremony inducting Orenstein and Tomko into the Hall of Fame on the ESPN Nov. 11 broadcast of the Main Event final table.

Orenstein and Tomko bring the total of living members in the Poker Hall of fame up to 16. Here is the list of previous Hall of Fame inductees in order of the year they became members:

• 1979: Nick "The Greek" Dandolos, Wild Bill Hickok, Edmond Hoyle, Felton "Corky" McCorquodale, Johnny Moss, Red Winn, Sid Wyman
• 1980: T. "Blondie" Forbes
• 1981: Bill Boyd
• 1982: Tom Abdo
• 1983: Joe Bernstein
• 1984: Murph Harrold
• 1985: Red Hodges
• 1986: Henry Green
• 1987: Puggy Pearson
• 1988: Doyle Brunson, Jack "Treetop" Straus
• 1989: Fred "Sarge" Ferris
• 1990: Benny Binion
• 1991 Chip Reese
• 1992: Amarillo Slim Preston
• 1993: Jack Keller
• 1996: Julius Oral Popwell
• 1997: Roger Moore
• 2001: Stu Ungar
• 2002: Lyle Berman, Johnny Chan
• 2003: Bobby Baldwin
• 2004: Berry Johnston
• 2005: Crandell Addington, Jack Binion
• 2006: Billy Baxter, T.J. Cloutier
• 2007: Barbara Enright, Phil Hellmuth