Money may be the lingua franca of poker and the ultimate measure of one's skill and success on the felt, but what motivates the proven professional, the player who's demonstrated mastery over the years - over the decades - of his or her career?
The answer is contained in a single word: respect. And in the cutthroat, competitive, and brutal world of professional poker, there are damn few ways to earn it.
A
World Series of Poker bracelet helps, of course. Having a few of them is definitely better than one, and a bracelet from the main event or one of the more challenging tournaments like the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event will garner some esteem. Longevity is a definite plus: A year or two of outstanding results could easily be nothing more than a really great run, but someone who can play at the highest levels for decades is clearly no flash in the pan. But when you ask experienced professionals what connotes respect for them - the respect of their peers - the answer is simple: the Poker Hall of Fame.
In fact, T.J. Cloutier said, "There are two things I've wanted to accomplish in the poker world. One was to win the main event and the other was to get into the Hall of Fame." He has come as close as possible to the first goal, not once but twice, with two second-place finishes in what is surely poker's Holy Grail (1985 and 2000). The wily old-school Texan achieved his second goal in 2006 when he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame along with Billy Baxter, the veteran gambler and poker player. As Baxter put it, "Naturally, you consider it an honor to be included among a group of people who are considered the best."
At the end of the day, that's what the Poker Hall of Fame is all about: players who are considered to be the best.
A Club Without a Clubhouse - For Now
The poker players of today's generation, of course, know about the many accomplishments of Doyle Brunson (inducted: 1988), Chip Reese (inducted: 1991), and Johnny Chan (inducted: 2002). And those with even a passing knowledge of poker history will be familiar with names like Johnny Moss (inducted: 1979), Stu Ungar (inducted: 2001), and Puggy Pearson (inducted: 1987). But how many of today's players will recognize names like Felton "Corky" McCorquodale (inducted: 1979) or T. "Blondie" Forbes (inducted: 1980)? They should know about both; Forbes is credited with inventing Texas hold'em, and McCorquodale introduced it to Las Vegas back in 1963.
But poker history is ephemeral. There is no poker equivalent of Cooperstown, New York (home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame), or Canton, Ohio (home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame). There's not even a shrine or an exhibit that physically honors members of the Poker Hall of Fame, though there may well be one someday (and there certainly should be). It's a club without a clubhouse - at least for now. And it's a club that has just 35 members.
The Poker Hall of Fame is another brainchild of Benny Binion, the visionary owner of Binion's Horseshoe who created the
World Series of Poker back in 1970. (Binion himself was inducted, posthumously, in 1990; his son Jack was inducted in 2005.) Binion launched the Hall with a "charter membership" of seven (see Timeline), including the infamous Johnny Moss, high roller "Nick the Greek" Dandalos, and "Corky" McCorquodale. And over the years, the roster of names has increased, one or two at a time, albeit with far too little fanfare.
A Work in Progress
When Harrah's acquired the
World Series of Poker, the gaming giant also acquired the Poker Hall of Fame. But Jeffrey Pollack,
WSOP commissioner, and his team have been very busy coping with the explosive growth of the
WSOP - and one by-product of that growth is that the Hall of Fame and its new inductees haven't gotten as much publicity as they deserve.
According to Nolan Dalla, spokesperson for the
WSOP, the Poker Hall of Fame is, like the
World Series itself, a "work in progress." "Eventually, I hope it will be a shrine or an exhibit that people can visit," he remarked. "The Hall's members are great players, great ambassadors for the game - great people who have done a lot for the game of poker."
There are no formal criteria for selection; names are bandied about, by
WSOP executives and living members of the Hall, until a consensus forms. And that consensus does emerge, said Dalla. "It becomes obvious that certain people should be in and will be in," he said in an interview. "Take last year's inductees: T.J. Cloutier's tournament record speaks for itself. And Billy Baxter not only is a seven-time bracelet winner, but also helped make poker a profession by convincing the IRS to treat poker winnings differently from gambling winnings."
Success at the table is clearly a requirement for inclusion in the Poker Hall of Fame, but it's important to note that many if not most of its members also have contributed to the evolution of the game. People like Benny and Jack Binion helped promote the game and spur its development. Players like Brunson and Cloutier, for example, have contributed to the world of poker literature, in addition to their obviously great records on the felt.
2006 Inductees: Cloutier and Baxter
Cloutier's record, particularly as a tournament player, is unparalleled: 59 major-tournament wins, including six
WSOP bracelets (three in variants of Omaha, one in razz, and two in no-limit hold'em). When asked about his place in poker history, Cloutier mentioned winning the Diamond Jim Brady tournament three times in a row, but added, "It's the entire body of work that I'm most proud of … winning at all the different venues, in all the different games."
As for Baxter - holder of seven
WSOP bracelets - poker and gambling have always played a central role in his life, though he may be better known for his sports-betting prowess than his poker. But don't underestimate him at the poker table. "I'm proud of my longevity," he said. "I've been beating poker games from the 1970s until now, and the poker explosion of the past few years has made me get back into the game."
The story of his successful battle with the Internal Revenue Service is also part of the reason he's in the Hall of Fame. He won several tournaments back when the tax rate for gambling winnings was considerably higher than that of earned income, and he said he paid the extra tax, "at the advice of my accountant but under protest." So, he decided to sue the government on the issue. ("William Baxter v. the United States of America; that's a pretty scary thought," he said.) Ultimately, he convinced several different courts (the IRS kept appealing) that poker was a game of skill, not luck. He said, "One judge told the government's lawyer, 'I find the government's argument to be ludicrous. I wish you had some money so you could sit down and play Mr. Baxter some poker.'" Baxter is appalled at the current governmental attempts to discourage people from playing online poker; given his successful record with respect to poker and the law, perhaps Baxter should be lobbying on behalf of online poker.
Two New Inductees in 2007: Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Barbara Enright
This year, at a press conference on July 5 on the eve of the main event,
WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced the two newest members of the Poker Hall of Fame: Phil Hellmuth Jr., fresh from winning his 11th WSOP bracelet, and Barbara Enright, the first woman to be so honored.
"This year's inductees are also great choices," said Dalla. "It's fitting that Barbara Enright should be the first woman to join the Hall of Fame. She has paid her dues, she is a pioneer in this business, and she deserves to be noted for her poker accomplishments. And with 11 bracelets, Phil Hellmuth Jr. is an obvious Hall of Famer."
Enright was "stunned" when she found out she'd be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but anyone familiar with her remarkable, and lengthy, tournament record can't be surprised. She first set foot in a public cardroom in Gardena, California, in 1976, and has been a successful tournament player for more than three decades. Among her more notable accomplishments, Enright was named player of the year in 1996 by the Four Queens Hotel and Casino; in 2000, the Bicycle Club named her best all-around player. She has won three
WSOP bracelets, including a 1996 triumph in pot-limit hold'em that marked the very first time a woman had won an open event at the
WSOP. And, Enright has the distinction of being the only woman ever to reach the final table of the main event, finishing fifth in the 1995 championship tournament.
"It is such an honor to be named to the Hall of Fame," she said. "But it goes far beyond me. It's wonderful that women players are finally getting the recognition they deserve, and it's a great privilege to be the torchbearer for women in poker."
When asked about the honor, Hellmuth responded with the mixture of naked ambition and lack of humility that seems entirely in character: "When I found out I was going into the Hall of Fame, there was a part of me that was like, I cannot believe it took so long," he commented. "I wanted to be the youngest player ever inducted. After all, I'm the youngest main-event winner and the youngest player to win 10 bracelets." But he added, with genuine emotion, "I was a lot more excited than I expected." He is in fact the youngest player ever named to the Hall of Fame, edging out Johnny Chan by a couple of years.
Here at
Card Player, we salute all of the recent inductees and the entire membership of the Hall of Fame. Now the challenge for the
WSOP and Harrah's is to find a way to showcase the Poker Hall of Fame - to immortalize these giants of the game and their contributions to poker. T.J. Cloutier had a good idea: a tournament for all of the living Hall of Famers. Now that would be a stacked event. But there also should be, at the very least, a "wall of fame" for the Hall of Fame.
