Nominees Announced for Poker Hall of Fame 2025
2025 Poker Hall of Fame Inductees: What You’ll Learn
- History and Origin: Learn about the inception and evolution of the Poker Hall of Fame, including its founding year and the motivations behind its creation.
- Criteria for Induction: Understand the selection process and the criteria that individuals must meet to be considered for this prestigious honor.
- Notable Inductees: Discover some of the most famous names who have been inducted, along with their unique contributions to the game of poker.
- Impact on the Poker World: Explore how the Poker Hall of Fame influences the poker community and celebrates the legacy of contributors to the game.
- Future of the Hall of Fame: Gain insights into the potential developments and changes that might shape the future of the Poker Hall of Fame.
The annual World Series of Poker brings about another big event in the card-playing world each summer – the induction of another member of the Poker Hall of Fame. This year’s nominees were announced this week and include a mix of old school pros, players of a younger generation, and industry insiders.
One new member is selected annually, as voted on by living Hall of Fame members. The newest inductee will be announced during the $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty tournament at the WSOP at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas on July 11. Here’s a look at this year’s nominees.
2025 Poker Hall of Fame Nominees
- Jeremy Ausmus – Six-time WSOP bracelet winner who plays at the highest stakes. Other highlights include winning the 2024 PokerGO Tour player of the year title and winning a Triton Poker $25,000 high roller earlier this year for $1.9 million.
- “Miami” John Cernuto – Longtime poker pro who had a career in poker dating back to the 1980s. Before passing away in February, he accumulated $6.5 million in liv tournament winnings, three WSOP bracelets, and numerous other major accomplishments.
- Ted Forrest – Another poker pro originally from New York with three WSOP bracelets and $6.4 million in live tournament winnings. He was part of a group of players who battled Texas billionaire Andy Beal in high-stakes heads-up games for millions of dollars.
- Phil Galfond – A poker pro and entrepreneur with three WSOP bracelets. Galfond has been involved with several high-stakes challenges and also designed the Run It Once online poker platform, which was later acquired by Rush Street Interactive to become BetRivers Poker.
- Kathy Liebert – A pioneer for women in the game, Liebert won the Party Poker Million event in 2002 for the top prize of $1 million and has one WSOP bracelet and six World Poker Tour final table appearances.
Image Credit: PokerGO
- Mike Matusow – ”The Mouth” made numerous televised poker appearances in high-stakes games throughout the 2000s. Matusow has four WSOP bracelets, including two Main Event final table appearances. This is his fourth-straight nomination.
- Matt Savage – Popular tournament director who now serves in that role for the WPT and other series.
- Isai Scheinberg – Legendary entrepreneur who founded PokerStars and had a massive impact on the online poker industry. He’s been nominated the last four years.
- Nick Schulman – Seven-time WSOP bracelet winner who also serves as a PokerGO commentator. Schulman has amassed $23.8 million in live tournament winnings.
- Scott Seiver – Also a seven-time bracelet winner, Seiver went on a tear at the WSOP last summer with three wins. He also has numerous other titles with $27.1 million in live tournament winnings.
Image Credit: PokerGO
Hall of Fame Criteria
To be nominated for the Hall of Fame, the WSOP makes a few stipulations to be considered, including being 40 years old at the time of nomination.
The player must have played consistently well against acknowledged top competition for high stakes, standing the test of time. Non-players must have contributed to the overall growth and success of the game, with indelible positive and lasting results.
Gauging the Nominees
This marks the first year that Galfond, Schulman, and Seiver have been considered for induction. All three players are now 40 years old and now meet the minimum requirement for Hall of Fame eligibility.
The list continues to be a deep field each year, making it a real challenge for voters. The younger players like those listed above may have to wait a few years, depending on how things shake out. Unless the hall expands the number of inductees each year as many have called for, a backlog of those worthy of inclusion may develop in the coming years.
Cernuto’s deep record and passing earlier this year may garner some support for his inclusion. Matusow has been vocal about how he should be included in the hall based on a deep record of success on some of the game’s biggest stages, including the WSOP Main Event.
Forrest also has a long record that might garner an induction. Liebert has made a nice impact for women in the game as well. From an industry standpoint, not many have had a bigger influence than Scheinberg. However, despite several worthy nominations, only one will go through.
Image Credit: PokerGO
Looking Back at The Greats of the Past
Online poker legend and high-stakes regular Patrik Antonius earned induction in 2024. He said seeing his name among the game’s best was a dream come true.
“Obviously it’s a very big honor to become a new Hall of Famer,” he said. “It was a little bit unexpected for me at this young age. Obviously, a big thanks to family and all my closest friends, also a very big thanks to all the poker fans, all the colleagues, all the players. Everywhere I’ve played around the world, I’ve been getting really nice support. This has been one of the nicest things.”
All Poker Hall of Fame members are invited to participate for free in the $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty, with bounties paid to players who eliminate them from the tournament. Each Hall of Famer’s bounty amount corresponds to the year of induction.
The new inductee will have his or her official photograph added to the walls of the WSOP Hall of Fame Poker Room at Horseshoe Las Vegas. Here’s a look at all Poker Hall of Fame members.
Poker Hall of Fame
| Tom Abdo ‘82 | Henry Green ‘86 | Carlos Mortensen ‘16 |
| Crandell Addington ‘05 | T “Blondie” Forbes ‘80 | Johnny Moss ‘79 |
| Patrik Antonius ‘04 | Barry Greenstein ‘11 | Daniel Negreanu ‘14 |
| Bobby Baldwin ‘03 | Jennifer Harman ‘15 | Scotty Nguyen ‘13 |
| Billy Baxter ‘06 | Dan Harrington ‘10 | David Oppenheim ‘10 |
| Lyle Berman ‘02 | Murph Harrold ‘84 | Henry Orenstein ‘08 |
| Joe Bernstein ‘83 | Phil Hellmuth ‘07 | Walter “Puggy” Pearson ‘87 |
| Benny Binion ‘90 | John Hennigan ‘18 | Julius Oral Popwell ‘96 |
| Jack Binion ‘05 | James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok ‘79 | Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston ‘92 |
| Bill Boyd ‘81 | Red Hodges ‘85 | Brian Rast ’23 |
| Doyle Brunson ‘88 | Edmond Hoyle ‘79 | David “Chip” Reese ‘91 |
| Todd Brunson ‘16 | Phil Ivey ‘17 | Brian “Sailor” Roberts ‘12 |
| Johnny Chan ‘02 | Linda Johnson ‘11 | Huck Seed ’20 |
| T.J. Cloutier ‘06 | Berry Johnston ‘04 | Erik Seidel ‘10 |
| Nick Dandolos ‘79 | John Juanda ‘15 | Mike Sexton ‘09 |
| Eric Drache ‘12 | Jack Keller ‘93 | Jack “Treetop” Straus ‘88 |
| Eli Elezra ’21 | Jack McClelland ‘14 | Duane “Dewey” Tomko ‘08 |
| Barbara Enright ‘07 | Felton McCorquodale ‘79 | David “Devilfish” Ulliott ‘17 |
| Mori Eskandani ‘18 | Tom McEvoy ‘13 | Stu “The Kid” Ungar ‘01 |
| Fred “Sarge” Ferris ‘89 | Chris Moneymaker ‘19 | Red Winn ‘79 |
| Layne Flack ’22 | Roger Moore ‘97 | Sid Wyman ‘79 |
Title Image Credit: PokerGO
