Players in the running for the 2010 WSOP Hall of Fame include some very well known names. The lucky nominees are Phill Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Dan Harrington, Jennifer Harman- Traniello, Scotty Nguyen, Linda Johnson, and Tom McEvoy.
The list was formed by fan votes from July 1st to August 31st although there are still some finalizations that need to be taken care of by the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council; the council has the final say on the list of nominees.
Speaking of finalization, 17 media members and 16 living Poker Hall of Fame members will vote on the 10 nominees. Only 2 people will be inducted into the Poker HOF (based on votes) so this is pretty exclusive company. In addition to being one of the top 2 vote getters, a HOF inductee must also meet some more requirements Some of the requirements that a future Hall of Fame member has to meet includes:
– Competing against recognized competition.
– Being a high stakes poker player
– Have a consistent poker game that earns the respect of other players
– Endure the test of time
– Be responsible in the growth of poker with long-term results (applies to non-players such as Linda Johnson).
Mike Sexton was the lucky inductee last year in the 2009 class. Notice that I only mentioned one name… so it’s not always easy meeting all of the requirements even if you’re a top 2 vote getter. My guess on who will be inducted would be Phil Ivey since he didn’t make the cut last year, but has been destroying high stakes poker. Ivey also earned an 8th WSOP bracelet, which furthers his case for an induction.
