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2021 World Series of Poker® Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

With the 52nd annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP) in full swing, today the list of ten nominees into the Poker Hall of Fame were announced. Traditionally electing one new member annually, the finalists will be considered by 32 living members who will cast votes to determine this year’s Hall-of-Famer. The 2021 finalists are as follows: 

1. Eli Elezra
2. Antonio Esfandiari
3. Chris Ferguson
4. Layne Flack
5. Ted Forrest
6. Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier
7. Mike Matusow
8. Michael Mizrachi
9. Matt Savage
10. Isai Scheinberg 

There are three new finalists in the 2021 class including six-time WSOP bracelet winner, Layne Flack, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier and five-time champion legend, Michael Mizrachi. 

The Poker Hall of Fame criteria remain the same as previous years: 

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

The enshrinement ceremony is now held on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in concert with the final table of the Main Event and the Hall of Fame Bounty tournament at Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. All living Poker Hall of Fame members are invited to freeroll into the $1,979 No-Limit Hold’em tournament, with the buy-in priced in honour of the Hall of Fame’s founding year. This event will be open to all players. Each participating Hall of Famer will have a bounty corresponding to the year they were inducted into poker’s most exclusive club. The 2021 inductee will be announced during the event.

The entire list of 59 Poker Hall of Fame members includes:

2020 Huck Seed

2019 Chris Moneymaker, David Oppenheim

2018 John Hennigan, Mori Eskandani

2017 Phil Ivey, David Ulliott

2016 Todd Brunson, Carlos Mortensen

2015 Jennifer Harman, John Juanda

2014 Jack McClelland, Daniel Negreanu

2013 Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen

2012 Eric Drache, Brian ‘Sailor’ Roberts

2011 Barry Greenstein, Linda Johnson

2010 Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel

2009 Mike Sexton

2008 Henry Orenstein, Duane ‘Dewey’ Tomko

2007 Barbara Enright, Phil Hellmuth

2006 Billy Baxter, T.J. Cloutier

2005 Crandell Addington, Jack Binion

2004 Berry Johnston

2003 Bobby Baldwin

2002 Lyle Berman, Johnny Chan

2001 Stu ‘The Kid’ Ungar

1997 Roger Moore

1996 Julius Oral ‘Little Man’ Popwell

1993 Jack Keller

1992 Thomas Austin ‘Amarillo Slim’ Preston

1991 David ‘Chip’ Reese

1990 Benny Binion

1989 Fred ‘Sarge’ Ferris

1988 Doyle Brunson, Jack ‘Treetop’ Straus

1987 Walter Clyde ‘Puggy’ Pearson

1986 Henry Green

1985 Red Hodges

1984 Murph Harrold

1983 Joe Bernstein

1982 Tom Abdo

1981 Bill Boyd

1980 T ‘Blondie’ Forbes

1979 Nick “The Greek” Dandolos, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, Edmond Hoyle, Felton “Corky” McCorquodale, Johnny Moss, Red Winn, Sid Wyman

For more information on the Poker Hall of Fame, visit http://www.wsop.com/pokerhalloffame/

ABOUT THE POKER HALL OF FAME

The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004. Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker’s most influential players and other important contributors to the game. There are now 32 living members, and 59 members have been bestowed the honour of Poker Hall of Famer. The Poker Hall of Fame traditionally elects one or two members annually. The enshrinement ceremony is now held in concert with the final table of the Main Event of the WSOP, held in Las Vegas. 

ABOUT THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER

The World Series of Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, having awarded more than $3.29 billion in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest-running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2019, the event attracted 187,298 entrants from 118 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and awarded more than $293 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent of WSOP Europe in 2007 and the WSOP Asia-Pacific in 2013 and the WSOP International Circuit Series in 2015. All WSOP events are subject to the then-current and applicable WSOP tournament rules. For more information, please visit www.wsop.com.

For more news and updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram.

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