Following a vetting of nominations by the PHOF Governing Council and a public nomination process, the 10 finalists for the 2016 Poker Hall Of Fame were announced last Friday. The finalists are: Chris Bjorin, Humberto Brenes, Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra, Bruno Fitoussi, Chris Moneymaker, Carlos Mortensen, Max Pescatori, Matt Savage and last but not least David 'Devilfish' Ulliott, who passed away in April last year after losing a short battle with cancer.
Three new candidates (Todd Brunson, Eli Elezra and Chris Moneymaker) along with seven previous finalists have made it this far. Now it's up to the 25 living Hall of Fame members and a 20-person media panel to decide who will be inducted (max 2 players).
The criteria they will consider in their vote are as follows:
• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
• Be a minimum of 40 years old at 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 induction ceremony and dinner are set for Wednesday, October 26 in the famed Longhorn Room at Binion's in downtown Las Vegas. Inductee(s) will also be announced on stage during November Nine festivities in the Penn & Teller Theatre at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
