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.
Of all the poker shows that have been created in the past couple of years, High Stakes Poker has definitely got to be considered one of the most successful. High Stakes has used the cash game format during its successful run along with the broadcasting skills of A.J. Benza and Gabe Kaplan to survive for five eventful seasons. The show has been so successful that the Game Show Network has decided to bring it back for a 6th season.
In the newest issue of ESPN Magazine, athletes are baring it all in the “Body Issue”.
There have been several noted bad boys in poker over the years. People like Phil Hellmuth, Tony G, and Mike Matusow have made just as big of a name for themselves on the felt as they have with their mouths and crazy antics. But these are of course well noted live tournament players who’ve gained most of their fame from being on TV and winning huge tourneys. However, one player is proving that being a poker bad boy is no longer limited to live play.
The poker world was happy to hear about female pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho appearing on the CBS reality TV show “The Amazing Race.” Unfortunately, the poker world may not be so proud of the pair after their debut on the 15th installment of the Amazing Race.
Hey Gamers! If you’ve got 500 Wii Points laying around, you can pick up a little bit of (slightly creepy) poker action.
On Friday morning pros attending the World Series of Poker Europe will wake up and rip the wrapping off a brand-new event in the poker world, the Caesars Cup.
Although Phil Hellmuth isn’t a member of the final table of the WSOP Main Event in November, he’s going to have a protégé hitting the felts.
