Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel Inducted Into 2010 Poker Hall of Fame

It was announced early Tuesday morning that Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel will be joining the Poker Hall of Fame as the official class of 2010.

Harrington and Seidel beat out eight other nominees for the honor, including Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen and Linda Johnson.

“I’m very honored to be elected to the Poker Hall of Fame this year and it’s an extra bonus for me to be going in with Dan Harrington,” said Seidel. “We have played together and have been great friends for my entire poker career. Both of us refined our games at the Mayfair Club in New York. I have such a high regard for the many members of the Poker Hall of Fame that I have played with over the years and it’s a real privilege to be able to join them.”

Both Harrington and Seidel were nominated for the honor in 2009, but lost to eventual inductee Mike Sexton. The two players represent the 39th and 40th members of the hall. Harrington and Seidel will be officially inducted on Monday, November 8 during the World Series of Poker final table festivities. The ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. in the Penn & Teller Theater immediately preceding the heads-up finale.

In order for a player to be considered for entry into the Poker Hall of Fame, they must have met the main criteria for selection. The player must have played poker for high stakes against acknowledged top competition and withstood the test of time. The player must have played consistently well, gaining the respect of their peers. If the nominee was not a player, they must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

Take a look at the official 2010 class.

Dan Harrington

Dan Harrington was born on December 6, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harrington has always had an affinity for games, excelling at backgammon and chess, the latter of which earned him the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship.

In the mid-1980’s, Harrington made the switch to poker and began playing in the Mayfair Club, an underground card club in New York, where Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow and Erik Seidel played.

Harrington is a bottom-line type of guy and has always insisted that he competes for the money, not the fame or glory. To that effect, Harrington has over $6 million in tournament earnings.

Sarcastically known as “Action Dan” for his tight image at the tables, Harrington is most known for making the World Series of Poker main event final table four times, including a win in 1995. He has one additional bracelet and a World Poker Tour title and is the author of the popular series Harrington on Hold’em.

Erik Seidel

Erik Seidel was born on November 6, 1959 in New York City. He spent eight years as a tournament backgammon player before switching to the stock market and eventually poker.

Seidel was one of the original members of the Mayfair Club in New York along with Dan Harrington, Steve Zolotow and Howard Lederer. He eventually made the move to Las Vegas, where he was immortalized in the movie Rounders for his runner-up performance against Johnny Chan in the 1988 World Series of Poker main event.

Seidel has since gone on to earn over $10 million in tournaments and has eight WSOP bracelets to go along with one World Poker Tour title. He has also done exceptionally well at the Aussie Millions, finishing runner-up in both the main event and $100,000 side event. Seidel is a member of Team Full Tilt Poker.

There are currently 18 living members of the Hall of Fame. Here’s a look at all 40 members.

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