2009 was a very interesting year as far as the Poker Hall of Fame selection process went. This year, fans were allowed to nominate their favorite players via the Internet which definitely added a twist to the process. And this twist was most likely the main reason why online sensation Tom “durrrr” Dwan found himself as one of the 10 players nominated for the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame class.
The 23 year-old Dwan joined plenty of other famous poker players and personalities such as Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Men Nguyen, Mike Sexton, Erik Seidel, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, and Dan Harrington. Ivey (age 37), Dwan, and Negreanu (age 35) were particularly interesting nominations because they all had a chance to become the youngest person ever selected to the Poker Hall of Fame.
But in the end, nobody broke Chip Reese’s record as being the youngest person ever inducted (age 40). In fact, nobody but Mike Sexton even made it into the Hall this year which is very interesting because most of Sexton’s accomplishments rest as a promoter instead of a player (though his playing accolades are pretty impressive too). Sexton was the only one who was able to get 75% of the media and living Hall member vote.
Sexton’s playing accomplishments include a total of 46 WSOP cashes to go along with $3.7 million in career winnings. The promotional work that Sexton has done has earned him the nickname of the “ambassador of poker”.
Sexton has been a major catalyst in helping the World Poker Tour achieve worldwide fame, and has also been an outstanding poker personality in the process. He is also a noted poker author as he’s written for numerous poker publications such as Card Player Magazine and Gambling Times.
Tags: News, Poker Pop Culture
