Brian Rast Selected As 2023 Inductee Into The Poker Hall Of Fame

After tallying the votes, Brian Rast joins the exclusive club of gamblers who have made it into the Poker Hall of Fame, becoming the 62nd member overall.

The announcement was made by the World Series of Poker, with the 41-year-old accepting the honor inside the Paris Ballroom before heading to the designated Hall of Fame Poker Room at the Horseshoe Casino for a photo opportunity that preceded the annual $1,979 buy-in Poker Hall of Fame bounty tournament.

“With a nearly 20-year-long career riddled with record-breaking wins and historic runs, Brian Rast is one of the best poker players we’ve ever seen,” said WSOP Vice President Jack Effel. “With the 2023 WSOP breaking records left and right, it only makes sense to put a record-setter himself amongst some of the greatest of all time. We are honored to induct Brian Rast into the Poker Hall of Fame and look forward to his successes to come.”

The Stanford dropout turned poker standout certainly has a deserving résumé as a longtime high-stakes cash game winner who also has six WSOP bracelets, as well as numerous high roller titles, including the first-ever Super High Roller Bowl, which paid out a massive $7.5 million.

This summer, Rast got everyone’s attention by winning the prestigious $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship for a third time, joining Michael Mizrachi as the only players to do so. Rast has nearly $25 million in career earnings overall, which is good for 30th all time.

“I am very pleased to receive this recognition for the work I have put into my craft during my entire adult life,” Rast said at the ceremony. “I am deeply honored to be chosen.”

Rast spoke for ten minutes, thanking his family and friends for their support.

There are now 32 living members of the hall, which collectively vote each year from the list of nominees. Other Hall of Famers who were in attendance included Jack McClelland, Scotty Nguyen, Mori Eskandani, Barbara Enright, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Todd Brunson, Berry Johnston, and Eli Elezra.

In order to be considered for the Poker Hall of Fame, 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.”

While Rast is certainly deserving of induction, the WSOP has received criticism in recent years for not increasing the number of inductees, while also eliminating the media vote.

Rast addressed the issue early in his speech, saying that he was going to push the other living voters to acknowledge the dozens of qualified individuals who are currently on the outside looking in.

“Now that I’m in, I have votes,” he said. “I’m going to do my duty to make sure the Hall gets the incoming generation right. There are a lot of amazing players in the poker world who deserve recognition for their careers.”

Rast beat out nine other finalists for the honor, many of whom have been waiting years for induction. The other nominees were Josh Arieh, Jeremy Ausmus, Ted Forrest, Kathy Liebert, Mike Matusow, broadcast duo Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, Matt Savage, Isai Scheinberg, and Bill Smith.

The Poker Hall of Fame

*Photos by PokerNews/ Megan Haney and PokerGO / Enrique Malfavon