Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen Inducted Into the Poker Hall of Fame

On Nov. 3, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen were inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, in a ceremony held in conjunction with the World Series of Poker main event final table at the Penn and Teller Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.

By all accounts, the two poker legends had become the Susan Luccis of the poker world, having been nominated and passed over four previous times before finally getting the nod to join poker’s most prestigious club. McEvoy and Nguyen became the 45th and 46th individuals to be inducted and join the 19 other living members of the Hall of Fame.

The Poker Hall of Fame is owned by Caesars Entertainment and was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the former owner of the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas, which housed the WSOP until 2004. Notable members from the inaugural class included poker greats such as Johnny Moss, Nick “The Greek” Dandolos and James “Wild Bill” Hickok.
Recent inductees include Barry Greenstein, Mike Sexton, Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, Linda Johnson, Eric Drache, and Bryan “Sailor” Roberts.

Hall of Fame inductees must meet a number of requirements. They must be at least 40 years old, must have played poker against acknowledged top competition, must have played high stakes and played consistently well, gaining the respect of their peers and standing the test of time. Non-players must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Candidates are nominated by the public. The names of the ten players who receive the most votes are then circulated amongst the living members of the hall, as well as an 18-person panel of poker media representatives for a final vote.

The eight other finalists this year were Carlos Mortensen, Huck Seed, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman, Humberto Brenes, Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, and Thor Hansen.
Here is a look at the two inductees.

Tom McEvoy

At 68 years old, Tom McEvoy was the oldest of the ten finalists. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native turned Las Vegas, Nevada resident has been not only a top poker professional for over 30 years, but he has also been influential in making poker a more popular option for mainstream gamblers.

Originally an accountant, McEvoy moved his family to Las Vegas in 1979 after losing his job with the hopes of becoming a professional poker player. He quickly found himself winning more money playing poker than he earned at his former job.

In 1983, he won his first gold WSOP bracelet in a $1,000 limit hold’em event, along with a $117,000 first-place prize. Later in the series, he played in a single-table satellite and won his $10,000 main event seat. A few days later, he became the first player to win the main event after earning his seat in a satellite, along with the $540,000 first-place prize.

His third and fourth bracelets came in 1986 and 1992, winning a $1,000 razz and $1,500 limit Omaha event. In 2006, he won a Professional Poker Tour event at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California and then won the first WSOP Champions Invitational in 2009, besting Robert Varkonyi heads-up to earn a classic 1970 Chevrolet Corvette and the inaugural Binion Cup.

To date, his poker tournament earnings are nearly $2.7 million. He has cashed 231 times and won 31 career titles.

Perhaps McEvoy’s greatest accomplishment had nothing to do with his results. In 1998, he helped to organize the first non-smoking poker tournament. By 2002, he had convinced Becky Behnen Binion to make the WSOP summer series completely smoke free, making the game instantly more accessible to many more players.

McEvoy is also a top-notch poker writer, having authored or co-authored 14 books on topics ranging from no-limit and pot-limit hold’em, to Omaha and stud variations.

“I would like to thank everyone for making my election to the Poker Hall of Fame possible,” McEvoy said in a statement. “It was a very emotional day for me when I got the news. I consider this the highest honor a poker player can receive next to winning the main event of the World Series of Poker. I feel both deeply honored and humbled to be included with all the other poker greats. This is truly the frosting on the cake of my poker career.”

Scotty Nguyen

Scotty Nguyen is one of the most recognizable players in poker history thanks to his immortal statement, “You call, it’s gonna be all over baby,” during the 1998 WSOP main event. Nguyen’s opponent, amateur Kevin McBride, couldn’t find a fold on a board of 9 9 8 8 8 and Nguyen’s J 9 secured him the title, along with the $1 million first-place prize.

It was the 51-year-old from Vietnam’s second WSOP bracelet, his first coming a year prior in a $2,000 Omaha eight-or-better event. Nguyen has gone on to win a total of five bracelets, including the $50,000 Poker Players Championship in 2008 for $1,989,120.

Nguyen came to the United States at the age of 14 and almost immediately began playing poker. At one point, he was expelled from school for spending his time in underground poker games. When he turned 21, he became a dealer, but quickly turned his earnings and cash game winnings into a seven-figure bankroll.

Nguyen couldn’t hold onto his money, going broke several times before turning it all around with his 1998 victory. In 2006, he won his first World Poker Tour main event, banking $969,421 for wining the Gold Strike World Poker Open in Tunica, Mississippi.

The “Prince of Poker” has cashed a total of 272 times and won 47 tournaments for a total of $11.8 million in earnings. That’s good enough for 11th place in the all-time tournament earnings rankings.

Nguyen, known for calling everyone he encounters “baby,” has continued to thrive in recent years, making two final tables at the 2012 WSOP. He currently resides in Henderson, Nevada.

“Thank you so much, this is wonderful news,” Nguyen said in a statement. “You work so hard, you put so much time in that you want and hope it will be recognized. This is something my grandkids will talk about. It’s awesome, baby, thank you.” ♠