On June 17, the 10 finalists for this year's induction into the Poker Hall of Fame were announced. The public had the opportunity to vote for three candidates, and the final 10 were selected. The 24 remaining members of the HOF will now be selected, and the most-voted will be the next inductee.
The newest member of the Hall of Fame will be announced on Friday, July 11th prior to the start of the 2025 WSOP Poker Hall of Fame Bounty NLH Event #92. All HOF members are invited to participate in the tournament and will receive a bounty equal to the year of their induction. Thus, whoever eliminates Patrik Antonius will receive $2,024, as he was the last inductee. The new inductee will receive a trophy, and their photo will be added to the Horseshoe Casino Poker Room, where all inductees' photos are displayed.
The Hall of Fame 10 Finalists
In no particular order, these are the 10 finalists for the 2025 Hall of Fame induction:
- Scott Seiver
He's one of the big favorites to win, thanks in part to his performance at the WSOP last year, where he won three bracelets and was named the festival's Player of the Year. He has earned $27 million in his career, with seven WSOP titles and one WPT victory. - Nick Schulman
The other leading candidate to enter this year, having just won his seventh World Series bracelet, he has earned $23.7 million on the circuit with victories on the WPT and Triton Poker. He is also considered one of the best commentators. - John “Miami” Cernuto
He passed away in February of this year. He arrived in Las Vegas at the age of 38 and was the first player to reach 500 cashes on the Hendon Mob website, closing his career with 597 cashes. He won three bracelets and two rings at the WSOP. - Phil Galfond
He's considered one of the best players in the world and played in the highest-stakes games in 2009 and 2010 against Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom. In 2008, he won his first WSOP bracelet and has earned $2.9 million live. Today, he devotes his time to coaching and his Run It Once school. - Matt Savage
He served as Tournament Director for major live circuits, including the WSOP and WPT. In 2001, he founded the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) with Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and David Lamb to discuss the rules of live tournaments. This is his tenth nomination. - Mike Matusow
One of the few old-school players who still participates in the World Series of Poker every year. He has 122 cashes, 29 final tables, and four bracelets there, with earnings totaling $5.1 million. He was a two-time Main Event finalist: 6th in 2001 and 9th in 2005. - Jeremy Ausmus
He has 115 cashes and six bracelets at the World Series of Poker, with earnings totaling $11.6 million. In 2012, he finished fifth in the Main Event, earning $2.1 million. He has earned $26.6 million in live earnings in his career. - Kathy Liebert
She was the first woman to win a million-dollar tournament prize with the 2000 Party Poker Million Cruise, where she earned $1 million. She has 115 cashes, one bracelet, and one WSOP ring. She is third on the ranking of the most winning women, with $7 million to her name. - Ted Forrest
Another historic player, he has won six bracelets and $2 million at the World Series of Poker. He also holds a World Poker Tour title, played in the highest-stakes cash games, and was one of the pros who faced off against banker Andy Beal in multimillion-dollar duels in Las Vegas. - Isai Scheinberg
He was the founder of the PokerStars site , which for decades was the world's largest poker room and was sold in 2014 for $4.9 billion. His entry was supported by several circuit players such as Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, and Faraz Jaka, among several others.
Hall of Fame Opinions on Social Networks
There's always a discussion surrounding Hall of Fame inductions. So many players deserve the spot, but there aren't enough to go around.
As usual, before and after Hall of Fame nominations, players and media outlets weigh in on social media.
One of those who weighed in was Matt Berkey, who tweeted: “Pity they haven't expanded entry. Nick, Scott, and Phil all deserve to be 1st ballot inductees. With the upcoming bottleneck & tournament popularity Galfond, specifically, may be waiting a decade+ to get in. Forrest & Matusow (arguably 1st ballot for their era) may not get in this lifetime.”
Matt Savage said during the public vote that he knew he wouldn't get in under the current induction system, and after being named a finalist, he tweeted, "Thank you to the public voters for the honor of my 10th nomination, as always I appreciate the support of friends, family, and peers."
Brian Saslavchik tweeted, “Almost everyone deserves to be in eventually. I think the order today should be:
- Isai Scheinberg
- "Miami" John Cernuto
- Matt Savage
- Ted Forrest
- Phil Galfond
- Nick Schulman
- Scott Seiver
- Jeremy Ausmus
- Mike Matusow
- Kathy Liebert”
Phil Galfond also chimed in on X/Twitter: “It's an honor to be nominated among legends. I've been so lucky in my poker career – and in many ways. One is the support from you all. There are people out there who cared enough to take time to vote for me. That's a cool thing, and I don't take it for granted. Thank you❤️”
Farah Galfond expressed her delight at her husband's nomination: "I feel a little emotional and very proud him. Thank you to those who voted for him and congrats to my other friends who are nominated as well. You know who you are. ❤️"
Kathy Liebert gratefully tweeted out, “Thank you 😊 to all who voted for me. I have no expectations but appreciate being nominated.”
Three-time HOF champion David Bach used Twitter to criticize the fact that only one person is inducted: “On this day of the Poker Hall of Fame Nominations. I want to express Sadness : With only 1 inductee per year, I feel like my chances are way more diminished than they should be. I have more to do in poker, but HOF is a BIG goal, and there SHOULD be more than ONE per year.”
Allen Kessler opined: “My heart would love to see Miami John finally get in, but there is a recency bias, and that most likely will get Nick Schulman in this year.”
Current Members of the Poker Hall of Fame (and Years of Induction)
These are the members of the Poker Hall of Fame:
- 1979: Nick "The Greek" Dandolos, Johnny Moss, Edmond Hoyle, Felton "Corky" McCorquodale, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, Sid Wyman and Red Winn.
- 1980: T. “Blondie” Forbes
- 1981: Bill Boyd
- 1982: Tom Abdo
- 1983: Joe Bernstein
- 1984: Murph Harrold
- 1985: Red Hodges
- 1986: Henry Green
- 1987: Walter Clyde "Puggy" Pearson
- 1988: Doyle Brunson and Jack “Treetop” Straus
- 1989: Fred “Sarge” Ferris
- 1990: Benny Binion
- 1991: David “Chip” Reese
- 1992: Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston
- 1993: Jack Keller
- 1996: Julius Oral "Little Man" Popwell
- 1997: Roger Moore
- 2001: Stu Ungar
- 2002: Johnny Chan and Lyle Berman
- 2003: Bobby Baldwin
- 2004: Berry Johnston
- 2005: Jack Binion and Crandall Addington
- 2006: TJ Cloutier and Billy Baxter
- 2007: Phil Hellmuth and Barbara Enright
- 2008: Henry Orenstein and Dewey Tomko
- 2009: Mike Sexton
- 2010: Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington
- 2011: Barry Greenstein and Linda Johnson
- 2012: Brian “Sailor” Roberts and Eric Drache
- 2013: Scotty Nguyen and Tom McEvoy
- 2014: Jack McClelland and Daniel Negreanu
- 2015: Jennifer Harman and John Juanda
- 2016: Carlos Mortensen and Todd Brunson
- 2017: Phil Ivey and David “Devilfish” Ulliott
- 2018: John Hennigan and Mori Eskandani
- 2019: Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim
- 2020: Huck Seed
- 2021: Eli Elezra
- 2022: Layne Flack
- 2023: Brian Rast
- 2024: Patrik Antonius
Who do you think should be inducted this year?
