Poker Hall of Fame – Members and Criteria
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The Poker Hall of Fame was started in 1979 by Benny Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Casino, in Las Vegas to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players.
Currently, membership in the Poker Hall of Fame is administered directly by the WSOP. As of this year, over 50 people have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, with over 30 still alive.
These are some of the most famous members of the Poker Hall of Fame:
These are the members of the Poker Hall of Fame up to and including the year 2023:
| Admission | Name | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Edmond Hoyle | 1672 - 1769 | Game expert in the 18th century |
| 1979 | James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok | 1837 - 1876 | Hickok was the most famous poker player in the world before the 20th century. |
| 1979 | Nick Dandolos | 1883 - 1966 | Highroller in the early years of the game of poker |
| 1979 | Red Winn | 1896 - ???? | Professional player in the early years of the game |
| 1979 | Felton McCorquodale | 1904 - 1968 | McCorquodale is credited with introducing the game of Texas Hold'em to Las Vegas in 1963. |
| 1979 | Johnny Moss | 1907 - 1995 | Three-time Main Event winner |
| 1979 | Sid Wyman | 1910 - 1978 | Owner of several Las Vegas casinos |
| 1980 | Blondie Forbes | ???? - ???? | Inventor of Texas Hold'em |
| 1981 | Bill Boyd | 1906 - 1997 | Director of the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, paved the way for the game of Omaha |
| 1982 | Tom Abdo | 1894 - 1967 | Died of a heart attack while playing the game |
| 1983 | Joe Bernstein | 1899 - 1975 | - |
| 1984 | Murph Harrold | ???? - ???? | Harrold was considered one of the best deuce-to-seven lowball poker players of all time. |
| 1985 | Red Hodges | ???? - ???? | - |
| 1986 | Henry Green | ???? - ???? | - |
| 1987 | Walter Clyde "Puggy" Pearson | 1929 - 2006 | Main Event winner 1973, inventor of the Freeze-Out tournament |
| 1988 | Jack "Treetop" Straus | 1930 - 1988 | Main Event winner 1982 ("Chip & Chair") |
| 1988 | Doyle Brunson | 1933 - | 10 bracelets, 2 Main Event titles |
| 1989 | Fred "Sarge" Ferris | 1928 - 1989 | - |
| 1990 | Benny Binion | 1904 - 1989 | Founder of the Horseshoe Casino and the WSOP |
| 1991 | David "Chip" Reese | 1951 - 2007 | Reese is widely considered the best cash game poker player of all time. |
| 1992 | Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston | 1928 - 2012 | Main Event Winner 1972 |
| 1993 | Jack Keller | 1942 - 2003 | Main Event Winner 1984 |
| 1995 | Julius Oral Popwell | 1912 - 1966 | - |
| 1997 | Roger Moore | 1938 - 2011 | - |
| 2001 | Stu Ungar | 1953 - 1998 | Main Event winner 1980, 1981 and 1997 |
| 2002 | Lyle Berman | 1941 - | Three time Bracelet winner |
| 2002 | Johnny Chan | 1957 - | Main Event Winner 1987 and 1988 |
| 2003 | Bobby Baldwin | 1950 - | Main Event Winner 1978, CEO and CFO of several Las Vegas casinos |
| 2004 | Berry Johnston | 1935 - | Main Event Winner 1986, Annual WSOP Cashes from 1982 - 2010 |
| 2005 | Jack Binion | 1937 - | Binion was the first host of the WSOP in 1970 |
| 2005 | Crandell Addington | 1938 - | One of the founders of the WSOP |
| 2006 | T. J. Cloutier | 1939 - | Six WSOP Bracelets |
| 2006 | Billy Baxter | 1940 - | Seven WSOP Bracelets |
| 2007 | Barbara Enright | 1949 - | Three WSOP Bracelets, Main Event fifth place winner 1995 |
| 2007 | Phil Hellmuth | 1964 - | Main Event winner in 1989, 16 WSOP Bracelets |
| 2008 | Henry Orenstein | 1923 - | Orenstein is inventor of the Hole-Cam, which allows spectators to see players' hidden cards. |
| 2008 | Dewey Tomko | 1946 - | Three WSOP Bracelets |
| 2009 | Mike Sexton | 1947 - 2020 | 21 WSOP final tables |
| 2010 | Dan Harrington | 1945 - | 1995 Main Event winner, poker book author |
| 2010 | Erik Seidel | 1959 - | Nine WSOP Bracelets |
| 2011 | Linda Johnson | 1953 - | Johnson was editor of Card Player Magazine and was instrumental in founding the Tournament Director's Association (TDA). |
| 2011 | Barry Greenstein | 1954 - | Three WSOP Bracelets |
| 2012 | Bryan "Sailor" Roberts | 1931 - 1995 | Main Event Winner 1975 |
| 2012 | Eric Drache | 1943 - | Dragon was the tournament director of the World Series of Poker from 1973 to 1988, inventor of satellite tournaments. |
| 2013 | Tom McEvoy | 1944 - | Main Event Winner 1983 |
| 2013 | Scotty Nguyen | 1962 - | Five WSOP Bracelets, Main Event winner 1998 |
| 2014 | Jack McClelland | 1951 - | In the 1980s, McClelland was WSOP tournament director and manager of the Bellagio Poker Room from 2002 to 2013. |
| 2014 | Daniel Negreanu | 1974 - | Six WSOP Bracelets, Two-time WSOP Player of the Year. |
| 2015 | Jennifer Harman | 1964 - | Two WSOP Bracelets |
| 2015 | John Juanda | 1971 - | Five WSOP Bracelets |
| 2016 | Todd Brunson | 1969 - | - |
| 2016 | Carlos Mortensen | 1972 - | Main Event Winner 2001 |
| 2017 | David "Devilfish" Ulliott | 1954 - 2015 | - |
| 2017 | Phil Ivey | 1977 - | 10 WSOP Bracelets |
| 2018 | Mori Eskandani | 1956 - | Producer of many American television poker shows such as Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker |
| 2018 | John Hennigan | 1970 - | Five WSOP Bracelets |
| 2019 | David Oppenheim | 1973 - | Oppenheim is considered one of the best all-around cash game players in the world. |
| 2019 | Chris Moneymaker | 1975 - | Main Event winner in 2003 (triggering the poker boom) |
| 2020 | Huck Seed | 1969 - | Four-time bracelet winner, Main Event winner 1996 |
| 2021 | Eli Elezra | 1960 - | Four-time bracelet winner |
Since 2009, the Poker Hall of Fame has been accepting nominations from the public. The election itself is made by all members of the Poker Hall of Fame, as well as a select group of media representatives. This step was intended to increase interest in the Hall of Fame. The requirements for induction into the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:
