A panel of Hall of Famers and media members have selected poker player John Hennigan and television executive Mori Eskandani as the 2018 inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame. The WSOP announced the selections as the final table of the WSOP Main Event got underway on July 12.
Hennigan is an underrated all-time great
Jul 16, 2019 The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced the two newest members of the coveted Poker Hall of Fame, David Oppenheim and Chris Moneymaker, taking the total number of inductees to 58. A panel consisting of 21 industry experts and the 30 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, cast their votes over a list of 10 individuals who would have all been worthy of becoming part of the class. MLB Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Are You a Stathead? Every day, we'll send you an email to your inbox with scores, today's schedule, top performers, new debuts and interesting tidbits.
John Hennigan enters the Hall of Fame in his first year as a finalist. Several notable professionals, including Daniel Negreanu, have called Hennigan the toughest opponent they have ever faced.
Hennigan’s nickname is “World,” purportedly because of his willingness to bet on virtually anything in the world. Prior to poker, he was a professional pool player.
Since picking up poker, he has earned over $8.1 million in tournament winnings alone. He holds five World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour championship.
Hennigan remains a top professional today. In fact, he is likely to be the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year after making six final tables at this year’s series.
Those final tables include a win in the $10,000 HORSE event and a second-place finish in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Of all this year’s finalists, Johnny World was perhaps the most deserving.
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Eskandani brought poker into your home
Mori Eskandani is the man largely responsible for bringing poker into your home. He is responsible for virtually every major poker program on television.
Eskandani is the creator of Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, The National Heads-up Championship, and several other game-based shows. He is now the producer for ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker.
Eskandani began production company Poker Productions in 2003. Though he did not invent the hole-card camera, his use of it quickly became the standard in televised poker.
In fact, it is likely that his use of the hole-card camera had an equally profound effect on poker’s popularity as Chris Moneymaker‘s 2003 WSOP Main Event win. When viewers could “play” alongside the players, poker truly became a spectator sport, and it became possible to provide on-the-spot expert analysis of play, similar to other athletic events.
Eskandani’s affinity for poker stretches back decades. Free 5 line bonus slots. In fact, he was well-known as a high-stakes player in the 1980s.
However, his greatest impact has been away from the table. Nevertheless, he is clearly a deserving member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
Poker Hall Of Fame Inductee Phil Crossword
A look ahead to the 2019 class
The 2018 Hall of Fame class arose from a ten-person list of finalists. Those eight men who were not chosen are eligible for consideration next year.
They are:
- Chris Bjorin
- David Chiu
- Bruno Fitoussi
- Mike Matusow
- Chris Moneymaker
- David Oppenheim
- Matt Savage
- Huckleberry Seed
According to the Hall of Fame criteria, inductees must be over the age of 40 and have made a lasting impact on poker, either at or away from the table. With that in mind, here are some people who might be nominated or will become eligible.
- Josh Arieh (age 43)
- Mike Caro
- John Cernuto
- Allen Cunningham (age 41)
- Antonio Esfandiari (age 39)
- Ted Forrest
- Gus Hansen
- Phil Laak
- Mason Malmuth
- Greg Raymer
- Barry Shulman
- David Sklansky
- Vince van Patten
The 2019 class will likely be a well-known group of players and poker professionals. Stay tuned.
Lead image courtesy of World Poker Tour/Flickr
A couple days ago, the list of the 10 final nominees for induction to the Poker Hall of Fame was published. There are four repeat nominees this year (John Juanda, Tom McEvoy, Jennifer Harman, Scotty Nguyen) and six first-time nominees (George Hardie, Brian “Sailor” Roberts, Chris Bjorin, Eric Drache, David Chiu, Thor Hansen). In the past couple of years, we’ve written about the latest inductees, Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson (2011) and Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington (2010), so if any of the nominees end up getting inducted, we’ll naturally be doing another write-up. News, names, and inductions aside, however, we think that it’s high time for a proper Poker Hall of Fame to be built.
What Does It Mean to Get Inducted?
Election to the Poker Hall of Fame is considered to be one of the biggest honors in the game. As many of you know, while public nominations are accepted, to be eligible for enshrinement nominees must fulfill a number of strict criteria. Wikipedia has a great page with details about Poker Hall of Fame and its 42 current members. Owned by Caesars Entertainment, all Poker Hall of Fame matters are handled exclusively by the people who run the World Series of Poker.
Currently, the official “home” of the Hall of Fame is at Binion’s in downtown Las Vegas; the original home of the WSOP. There, a dedicated wall displays pictures of all Hall of Famers, dating back to Johnny Moss and the other six initial members who were inducted back in 1979. Ironically, the Poker Hall of Fame at Binion’s was originally conceived not just to honor the achievements of the game’s greatest players and proponents, but also to serve as a tourist attraction. I’ve been to Binion’s and I’ve seen the wall. Buried in the bowels of an aging downtown Las Vegas relic, however, I’ve got to say that as a poker fan I was both very unimpressed and disappointed.
Like Sports and Music or Professional Wrestling?
The head honchos over at the WSOP need to decide what sort of character they want the game’s Hall of Fame to have. Currently, it most resembles WWE’s professional wrestling Hall of Fame, which essentially exists online, “in people’s minds and hearts”, and in yearly induction ceremonies. Perhaps that type of Hall of Fame is apropos for what essentially boils down to lifetime achievement awards for excellent service to a private entertainment company. Real-world achievements in public arenas like sports and music, however, arguably deserve better. When there’s an actual shrine to visit, it elevates those enshrined that much more.
Famous Halls of Fame like in Cooperstown (baseball), Cleveland (rock and roll), Canton (football), and Nashville (country music) get millions upon millions of visitors each year and for good reason. Fans of those enshrined make pilgrimages to these edifices in order to pay tribute to their heroes and the greats of sports and music who have inspired and influenced them.
If You Build It, They Will Come
We call upon the WSOP to build a permanent home for the Poker Hall of Fame in Las Vegas at the Rio. The game of poker has so much to gain from the creation of a bona fide Hall of Fame tourist attraction. Hold the annual ceremonies there and collect memorabilia from current members, who will likely be all too happy to contribute their time and effort. Put up plaques, showcase video footage, mention it during WSOP broadcasts – we’re talking about something very highly marketable here.
Give us tens of millions of poker fans worldwide another reason to want to come to Las Vegas. I dare say go ahead and even charge us $1 admission (payable by poker chip – how’s that for unique and innovative?) to keep the hall open 24/7 (another first) and ensure that it’ll be a moneymaker (“you know who” would be a great front man to promote it…).
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