Nominations Now Open for 2023 Poker Hall of Fame

Nominations for the 2023 Poker Hall of Fame are now open. The public can recommend players who qualify through a form on the WSOP’s website.

Then, each of the 33 living members of the Hall of Fame will be invited to assign 10 votes to the top-10 nominees. The person with the most votes gets in, that simple. 

Hall of Fame voters are instructed to weigh these values:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Played for high stakes
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at the time of nomination
• Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
• Stood the test of time
• For non-players, nominees must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results

Until 2020, the Hall of Fame regularly inducted two individuals per year. In a controversial move, Hall officials cut that number in half because, as WSOP executive director Ty Stewart explained, officials want to make the honor “more of a lifetime achievement award for that rare player who is not just a success, but a legend.”

The one-per-year policy has created a bottleneck with many talented people stuck in line who deserve the recognition and came close in past votes. Just take a look at last year’s nominees:

• Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
• Brian Rast
• Isai Scheinberg
• Josh Arieh
• Kathy Liebert
• Lon McEachern & Norman Chad
• Matt Savage
• Michael Mizrachi
• Mike Matusow

The Hall of Fame was part of Binion’s Horseshoe until Ceasars acquired the WSOP brand in 2004. It’s supposed to be relocated to the poker room at the newly rebranded Horseshoe Las Vegas, but it hasn’t happened yet. They’re going to need plenty of wall space, because there are many members.