Jennifer Tilly, Vanessa Selbst, Angelica Hael, And Terry King Selected For Women In Poker Hall Of Fame

There were seven candidates who could have been inducted this year into the Women In Poker Hall of Fame. After tallying the votes, it turns out it was too close to call, and the Hall will be adding four women to the prestigious club of poker standouts.

“Having skipped a year of induction (due to the pandemic) and with very few votes separating the top four women, this year the Hall members chose to make an exception and induct all four amazing women to the class of 2022,” said Committee Chair Lupe Soto.

The 2022 class is made up of Academy Award-nominated actress and WSOP bracelet winner Jennifer Tilly, tournament crusher and all-time women’s money list leader Vanessa Selbst, WPT Vice President of Global Tour Management Angelica Hael, and longtime industry insider and bracelet winner Terry King.

Selbst has been mostly retired from the game for a few years now, but spent a decade as one of the top-ranked players on the tournament circuit, male or female. Selbst, who has three WSOP bracelets in open events, was the first woman to compete and win in high rollers, racking up nearly $12 million in career earnings. That’s $5 million more than her nearest competitor.

Tilly starred in films such as Bullets Over Broadway, Bound, and four of the Child’s Play movies, and was the first celebrity to win a WSOP tournament. She won the 2005 ladies event for her bracelet, and followed that up with a WPT Ladies Night Invitational win. Tilly and her life partner Phil Laak frequently compete in Hollywood home games and also poker shows such as Poker After Dark, Celebrity Poker Showdown, and Poker Royale.

Hael has been with the World Poker Tour for the last 12 years and currently serves as Vice President of Global Tour Management. She has made it her mission to grow the game with the WPT Women’s Poker Initiative, and was integral for the upcoming first-ever $200,000 guaranteed and televised Women’s Championship.

King is a poker pioneer, falling in love with the game in the ‘70s and becoming one of the first women to deal the WSOP. In addition to being a prop player at the Bicycle Club, she also helped to open Hollywood Park Casino and was a shift manager for five years. She won the ladies event in 1978 for her bracelet. The former partner of Chip Reese is also considered a bit of a poker historian, and spent considerable time with many of the best players during poker’s formative years.

You can read more about the inductees at the WIPHOF website.

The four women will be honored at an induction ceremony at 10 a.m. on Dec. 14 at the PokerGO studio in Las Vegas, which will be live streamed globally.

The Women in Poker Hall of Fame was created in 2008 to honor those who have achieved success as players or have made contributions to the poker world off the felt.

The Hall had previously been made up of 21 women, 19 of which are still living and can cast their votes. There is also a panel of eight poker media members. Each member gets 10 votes that they can either give to one candidate, or split among multiple nominees. This year, the public’s collective vote also acted as one voting member.

The women who didn’t quite have enough votes to make it in this year were bracelet winners Kristen Bicknell Foxen and Liv Boeree, as well as poker player and TV reporter Kara Scott. They will rejoin the field of 47 other women who were recognized as candidates for induction this year.

The Women in Poker Hall of Fame

*Hael photo by World Poker Tour, King photo by Terry King

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