The Poker Hall Of Fame at www.CasinoPokerPlace.com

The Poker Hall of Fame is a prestigious group of poker players who have
played poker well in top competitions for high stakes over a long period of time.
It is awarded by Binion's Horseshoe Casino.
POKER HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

*Crandell Addington* Inducted:2005	World-famous poker ambassador and consistent high stakes winner. Crandell enjoyed an extremely successful poker career from 1963 until he retired in the mid-80's after playing against the games biggest names. Doyle Brunson described Crandell as a "No Limit Hold'em Legend" and "one of the most colorful and greatest poker players of history."
*Jack Binion* Inducted:2005	For over fifty years, the innovations and style of Jack Binion has led to unparalled success in the casino industry. Inheriting the Horseshoe legacy from his father, Benny Binion, Jack developed the downtown Horshoe Casino into a Las Vegas icon renowned for its high limits and generous odds - and hosted the first World Series of Poker in 1970.
*Berry Johnston* Inducted:2004	The 1986 World Series of Poker Champion, Berry Johnston is also recognized for being the man with the most all time cashes in 2004. He's made at least one cash every year since 1982.
*Bobby Baldwin* Inducted:2003	Recognized as the man who helped bring class to poker, Bobby Baldwin is one of Vegas' top Chief Executive Officers and poker's biggest friend. The 1978 WSOP Champion, Bobby is also honored for his world class playing skills, willingness to take enormous risks, and his ability to come out on top time after time.
*Johnny Chan* Inducted:2002	Johnny Chan is used to being first. The winner of back-to-back World Championships in1987 and 1988, Johnn was also first in money won all-time at the World Series of Poker in 2002. He's also the first poker-playing movie star. It was Chan, shown trapping Erik Seidel, that Matt Damon idolized in the movie, Rounders. Nicknamed by the pundits as "The Great Wall of China" and "The Orient Express." Johnny is also one of the most approachable and well-liked of former World Champions.
*Lyle Berman* Inducted:2002	Berman prefers high-stakes cash games to tournaments,although he has played in a few. Berman is a three-time winner at the World Series of Poker: Limit Omaha in 1989, No-Limit Texas Hold'em in 1992, and Deuce-to-Seven draw in 1994. He finished second atthe WSOP four times. In 1991, he won the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em championship at the Hall of Fame Poker Classic. Berman doesn't play many tournaments and yet considering the number of events he has played, his record is worthy of the Hall of Fame.
*Stu Ungar* Inducted:2001	Ungar was originally a champion gin player. When he was 10 years old in 1963, he won a local tournament. By 1967, he was regarded as one of the best players in New York. He dropped out of school in 1968 to play gin rummy full time and began winning tournaments earning him $10,000 or more. He later moved to Miami, Florida to find more action, and in 1976, he left for Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1980 he entered the World Series of Poker looking for more high-stakes action. He won the main event becoming the youngest champion in its history (he would later be surpassed by Phil Hellmuth). Ungar looked even younger than he was, and was dubbed "The Kid". He would defend his title successfully the next year. Ungar was a genius with an eidetic memory, and could easily keep track of every card in a six-deck shoe. In 1977 there was a $100,000 bet by Bob Stupak, an owner and designer of casinos, that he could not count down the last three decks in a six-deck shoe. Ungar won the bet. His skill and reputation were so good that he was frequently barred from playing in casinos. He was virtually unable to play blackjack in Las Vegas. Ungar is still regarded by many poker insiders as the greatest pure talent ever to play the game; in his life, he is estimated to have won over $30 million at the poker table. Along with Johnny Moss, Ungar is the only three-time WSOP main event champion, winning it in 1980, 1981, and 1997.
*Roger Moore* Inducted:1997	Moore grew up the son of sharecroppers. He quit school in the eighth grade and soon afterwards entered into military service. After the military he worked as a civil servant and for fun he would play poker. When he realized he was making more money playing poker, he quit his job and in 1968 moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.Moore has played at the World Series of Poker since 1974, but has never won the main event (although no limit Texas hold 'em is not his preferred game). As of 2004 he has one WSOP bracelet, and career earnings of over $400,000. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1997.Moore owns the Pine Bluff Golf Course and Country Club in Eastman, Georgia.
*Julius Oral Popwell* Inducted:1996	"Little Man" Popwell is one of the most famous poker players from the first half of the 20th century. His preferred game was five card stud, and he often played against other poker legends such as Johnny Moss. He was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1996.Despite his nickname, Popwell was actually obese, weighing over 300 pounds (136 kg) and only being 5'6" tall. The nickname "Little Man" actually came from his prowess in billiards when he was a teenager, because he could regularly beat men over twice his age.He operated lotteries and card games from his home near Birmingham, Alabama and on April 3, 1954, he was sentenced to 366 days in jail and fined $250 for this, as well as income tax evasion.
*Jack Keller* Inducted:1993	"Gentleman" Jack Keller served in the United States Air Force prior to becoming a poker pro. He won the 1984 World Series of Poker main event, 3 WSOP bracelets and more than $1.4 million in tournament play during his career. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1994.Keller had three children. He died in Tunica, Mississippi in December 2003.
*Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.* Inducted:1992	"Amarillio Slim" Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker main event. Following his victory he went on several talk shows, and even had a bit part in the movie California Split, making him moderately famous outside the poker world. He has appeared on The Tonight Show over 10 times, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, The Tomorrow Show, Panorama, Georgia Today, and A. M. Los Angeles.As of 2004 Preston has a total of 4 WSOP bracelets, and has won over $500,000 in tournament play. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992.Preston had a minor role in the Robert Altman film, California Split, where he played a regular in a $40/$80 razz game in Reno, Nevada. In May 2003, Preston published his autobiography Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, where he reveals tales of playing poker with Larry Flynt, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, amongst others. He reportedly made an anti-semitic remark on a radio station that hurt a movie deal tied into his book.
*David Edward Reese* Inducted:1991	"Chip" Reese is originally from Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from Dartmouth College. He went to Las Vegas, Nevada for a weekend in 1974, ended up winning $60,000, and decided to become a professional poker player.As of 2004 he has 2 World Series of Poker bracelets. Although his tournament winnings are relatively low compared to poker greats of today, he is regarded as one of the best cash game players ever, and an expert at seven card stud.At one time Reese was the manager of the card room at the Dunes casino. In 1991 he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, making him the youngest living person ever to be inducted.He collaborated with Doyle Brunson on Brunson's Super/System book.
*Lester Ben Binion* Inducted:1990	"Benny" Binion helped the game of poker spread and become popular, by helping to create the World Series of Poker. Binion was born and raised in Grayson County, Texas, north of Dallas, but moved to El Paso when he was 17. There, he began moonshining where he was twice convicted for it. In 1928, under fear of legal consequences, he gave up moonshining and opened a numbers game, or lottery, which was also illegal. While he was in El Paso he learned to gamble, a skill that would become important in his later life.In 1931 he was convicted of murder after shooting Frank Bolding who moved as if to attack Binion in a back yard where they were arguing. Because the reputation of Bolding was so poor, Binion only got a two-year suspended sentence. He would later kill a fellow numbers operator who first drew a gun on him. Binion was found innocent on the grounds of self-defense. In 1951 he opened Binion's Horseshoe casino, and it immediately became popular because of the high limits on bets. Because of the competition, Binion sometimes received death threats, although eventually casinos raised their limits to keep up with him. Additionally, the Horseshoe would honor a bet of any monetary value as long as it was the first bet made.Binion was in the vanguard of Las Vegas casinos, being the first to install carpets, the first to have limousines pick up customers, and the first to give free drinks to players. Although comps were normal for high rollers, Binion opened the door for all players.Binion said he followed a simple philosophy when serving his customers- Good food, good whiskey, good gamble. He was more generous to gamblers than any other casino owner on the Strip. He died of heart failure at the age of 85 on December 25, 1989 in Las Vegas.
*Fred Ferris* Inducted:1989	A New England-born son of Lebanese immigrants, "Sarge" became a professional gambler to escape the poverty of his youth. He won the 1980 deuce-to-seven draw world title. He gained notoriety when (on April 22, 1983) the Internal Revenue Service seized $46,000 worth of chips from him during a high-stakes game at the Horseshoe. he dies of a heart attack in March 1989, the year he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
*Jack Straus* Inducted:1988	"Treetop" Straus had played in the WSOP events since the early 1970s, when they first started. He won the 1982 World Series of Poker main event, earning $520,000 and his second WSOP bracelet.Most remarkable about the 1982 win was that he came back from having just one $500 chip left at one point. Although accounts vary, some believe that Straus went all-in, was called, and lost the hand. He then discovered he had one chip left over, and the tournament directors allowed him to continue playing.Straus was nicknamed "Treetop" because he was 6'6". He died of a heart attack at in August 1988 at age 58 during a high stakes poker game and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame later that year.
*Doyle Brunson* Inducted:1988	"Texas Dolly" is the first player to win a $1 million poker tournament, Brunson has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan for the record. His achievements include two WSOP main event titles in 1976 and 1977.Other than his poker success, his greatest achievement is probably the book that was once considered to be the bible of poker: Super/System. Super/System was the book that transformed poker by giving ordinary players an insight into the way that the professionals like Brunson played and won, so much so that Brunson believes that having written the book cost him a lot of money. An up-to-date sequel to Super/System was published in 2004. He is also the author of Poker Wisdom of a Champion, originally published as According to Doyle in 1976.Brunson continues to play in the biggest poker games in the world playing $4000/$8000 minimum bets and also at the World Series of Poker. He won his ninth gold bracelet in a mixed games event in 2003, and in 2004 he finished 53rd (in a field of 2576) in the No Limit Texas hold'em Championship event. He won the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour event in 2004 (garnering him a $1.1 Million prize), and finished fourth in the WPT's first championship event. Early in the morning on July 1, 2005, less than a week after Chan had won his 10th bracelet, setting a new record, Brunson earned his 10th.Brunson's nickname, "Texas Dolly", came from the incorrect reading of his name by Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, and it stuck. Brunson has the honor of having two Texas hold'em hands named after him. One hand, a Ten and a Two of any suit, bears his name as he won the No Limit Hold 'Em event at the World Series of Poker two years in a row with them (1976 and 1977), in both cases completing a full house. Interestingly, although one of the obvious all-time greats, Brunson had to suck out with his 10-2 off after the money got into the middle in order to win. Doyle has expressed his displeasure at being known for the hand because it is generally considered a weak starting hand in Texas Hold 'em. Another hand known as a "Doyle Brunson," especially in Texas, is the Ace and Queen of any suit because, as he says on page 519 of the Super/System, he "never plays this hand."
*Walter Clyde Pearson* Inducted:1987	"Puggy" Pearson got his nickname from an accident when he was 12 that disfigured his nose. He had previously been one of the best pool players in the world and while he was in the Navy he learned how to gamble.Prior to 1949 all poker games were cash games; a player could leave when they felt like it and cash out their chips. The idea of a freezeout tournament was Pearson's idea, and he told it to Nick the Greek who would later tell Benny Binion about it. Thus, Pearson can be called the father of poker tournaments.Pearson won the 1973 World Series of Poker main event. He has a total of 3 WSOP bracelets and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1987 at the age of 58.In a famous tale, Pearson once threw cards at a dealer, and she later began hitting him on the head with her high heels while another dealer held him down. Other poker players, however, describe his general demeanor as laid back; Amarillo Slim said Pearson was "softer than butter on a hot stove".Pearson currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada and now mainly plays in cash games instead of tournaments.
*Henry Green* Inducted:1986	A road gambler from Alabama, Henry Green was an eventempered player who was skilled at all forms of poker.
*Red Hodges* Inducted:1985	Considered one of the best seven-card stud players of all time.
*Murph Harrold* Inducted:1984	Regarded as one of the best deuce-to-sevendraw (a.k.a. Kansas City Lowball) players of all time.
*Joe Bernstein* Inducted:1983	A sharp road gambler; Joe was known as a dapper dresser at the poker table.
*Tom Abdo* Inducted:1982	After suffering a heart attack at the poker table, Tom turned to another player and asked him to count his chips down and save his seat. He died that night, intending to return to the game.
*Billy Boyd* Inducted:1981	Boyd was likely the last great five-card stud player; in fact, he won both of his two World Series of Poker bracelets in five-card stud. Additionally, Boyd is responsible for the spread of Omaha hold 'em. In 1983 Robert "Chip Burner" Turner, the creator of the game, approached Boyd, who was then the director of operations at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The game, previously not having a name, was called Nugget hold 'em. Sometime later it was renamed to its current name of Omaha hold 'em.As a tribute to his long career, he was dealt the first poker hands ever at the Golden Nugget and The Mirage casinos. He was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1981.Boyd died in Las Vegas on November 21, 1997.
*T. "Blondie" Forbes* Inducted:1980	A master road gambler.
*Edmond Hoyle* Inducted:1979	For more than two centuries, card players have played "according to Hoyle," which has become synonymous with conformity rules. Born around 1672 in England, Hoyle wrote his first book A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist in 1742. The book was used to settle differences during games played by London society. Hoyle died August 30, 1769, at age ninety-seven.
*"Wild Bill" Hickock* Inducted:1979	James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, a nineteenth-century gambler and lawman, was killed while playing poker. He held Aces and Eights, which became knows as "The Dead Man's Hand." Hickock is perhaps the most recognizable name in the shrine at least to those outside of poker circles. He was a scout in the Civil War, a Marshal in Kansas, and later toured with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show as a sharpshooter. While playing in a poker game in a saloon at Deadwood in the Dakota Territory (now South Dakota), he was shot in the back by "Crooked Nose" McCall and died on August 2, 1876, at age thirty-nine.
*Syd Wyman* Inducted:1979	From the early 1950's to the late 1970's, Sid Wyman was co-owner of several gaming properties, including the Sands, Reiviera, and the old Dunes. The Missouri-born Wyman was a noted high-stakes gambler who excelled at poker. He died in June 1978.
*Red Winn* Inducted:1979	Known as the quintessential all-around player.
*Felton McCorquodale* Inducted:1979	A noted no-limit gambler, "Corky" introduced Texas Hold'em to Las Vegas in 1963.
*"Nick the Greek" Dandolos* Inducted:1979	Known for making astronomical wagers in Las Vegas casinos, Nick became a household name. Late in his career, Dandolos was near broke and playing low-limit poker in Southern California. asked how he could bet millions of dollars once and now play with $5.00 chips, Dandolos was purportes to have said: "Hey, it's action."
*Johnny Moss* Inducted:1979	The ageless patriarch of the game, Moss grew up in Odessa, Texas where he learned how to gamble as a young boy. A group of cheaters taught him how to cheat in games, but Moss put this knowledge to good use. As a teenager he was hired by a local saloon to watch over games and make sure they were played fair. While he was keeping games safe from cheaters, he was also learning the strategy behind playing poker. Two years later he became a rounder, a player that travels the country looking for gambling action. In 1949 Moss once played with Nick the Greek in a five month long poker marathon set up by Benny Binion, winning anywhere from $2 million to $4 million. At the end of the marathon, down millions of dollars, Nick the Greek uttered what has become one of the most famous poker quotes ever, "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go." Because of people like Nick the Greek, Binion and Moss, poker became popular and eventually a World Series of Poker was organized. Moss won the 1970, 1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker main events, tying him with Stu Ungar for the most WSOP main event titles. For the 1970 event, Moss was actually elected the champion by his peers and only received a silver cup as his prize. He played at every WSOP from 1970 to 1995 and during his career he won 8 WSOP bracelets and over $680,000 in tournament play. Moss was sometimes called the "Grand Old Man" because of his longevity and superior play. He was one of the charter inductees to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979. The starting hand Ace-Ten is named the Johnny Moss in his honor. He lived in Las Vegas until his death in 1979.