Eli Elezra Selected As Latest Member Of Poker Hall Of Fame

Longtime poker pro Eli Elezra is the latest player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, becoming the sole member of the 2021 class in a ceremony conducted during the World Series of Poker.

The former businessman was one of the stars of the poker boom, enduring massive swings by playing in some of the biggest cash games in the world. In addition to being a regular in Bobby’s Room and at other high-limit tables, Elezra has also been a popular mainstay on poker shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.

The 60-year-old has also had quite a bit of success in tournaments with more than $4.5 million in earnings, including a seven-figure score when he won the World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown, as well as four World Series of Poker bracelets.

“I started playing poker in 1985… and I wasn’t very successful,” Elezra admitted about his first years in the game. “[So to come all this way] and be alongside guys like Chip [Reese], Doyle [Brunson], Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu… nobody can take that away from you. This is amazing.”

Elezra grew up in Jerusalem, and later served in the Israel Defense Force during the Lebanon War. After being wounded in battle, he moved to Alaska where he worked in a salmon cannery, as a taxi driver, and even hunted bears and whales. He later relocated to Las Vegas when he spotted a business opportunity to run a photo processing store on the Strip. It was there that he discovered poker and became a regular in the high-stakes cash games.

His stories of high-stakes poker and the near-death experiences of his youth are featured in his autobiography, Pulling The Trigger.

“Israel is a small country, but there are a lot of poker players from there now, [even though] poker is illegal there,” Elezra added. “To come from a small country and make the Hall of Fame is a dream come true.”

Elezra becomes the 60th inductee overall, and 33rd living member. He beat out nine other nominees for the honor, including Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Layne Flack, Ted Forrest, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Mike Matusow, Michael Mizrachi, Matt Savage, and Isai Scheinberg.

The nominees were in part determined by a public online vote, and the inductee was selected by living members of the hall.

In order to be considered for the HOF, a player must be a minimum of 40 years old and must have played high-stakes poker “against acknowledged top competition” while “standing the test of time” by playing consistently well and earning the respect of their peers. Or, for non-players, they must have “contributed to the overall growth of the game with indelible positive and lasting results.”

Despite his senior status, Elezra performed quite well at the 2021 WSOP, cashing seven times while making three final tables, including a fourth-place finish in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. He won his fourth bracelet at the prior series in Las Vegas.

The announcement came during a special Hall of Fame event at the Rio featuring a $1,979 buy-in in honor of the year the hall was founded. If players were able to eliminate a member of the HOF, they would also earn an additional bounty equal to the year the player was inducted. ♠

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The 60 Members Of The Poker Hall Of Fame