The news is out. The World Series of Poker has completed the nomination period and this year’s 10 potential inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame have been confirmed. Among them are icons from around the poker world, with Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius, six-tie WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh and British two-time WSOP winner and The Hendon Mob co-creator Barny Boatman all on the list.
Who has been nominated and who might go on to win? Let’s take a look at the 10 individuals who will be up for induction into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2024.
Who are the Poker Hall of Fame Nominees?
Just one new member is inducted into the Poker Hall of fame annually, and while the concept of more nominees and inductees is a hot subject, nothing is going to change this summer, so it is one from ten, and what a set of nominees we have.
Finnish poker legend Patrick Antonius, British poker pioneer Barny Boatman and the six-time WSOP bracelet Josh Arieh top the bill, with classic poker players Bill Smith, ‘Miami’ John Cernuto, Ted Forrest and Kathy Liebert all making the cut too. Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow is included, alongside industry luminaries Matt Savage and Isai Scheinberg.
The nominees will be considered for induction by the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, who will each be given 10 total votes to attribute as they see fit between the nominees. They can do so in any order and split it in as many different directions as they like, such as giving one nominee all ten votes or splitting it unequally, giving Josh Arieh five votes, Patrik Antonius three votes and Barny Boatman two votes, for example.
The full list of 2024 Poker Hall of Fame nominees is as follows:
- Patrik Antonius
- Josh Arieh
- Barny Boatman
- ‘Miami’ John Cernuto
- Ted Forrest
- Kathy Liebert
- Mike Matusow
- Matt Savage
- Isai Scheinberg
- Bill Smith
Who Are the Four Favorites to Be Inducted?
In years when only one Poker Hall of Famer has been inducted, the result is that it is often a poker player rather than an industry professional who makes the cut. Put simply, fans prefer to see poker players make the leap into the Hall of Fame and as such, and with so many poker legends on this list, it is very difficult to see industry legends such as Isai Scheinberg or Matt Savage rewarded for their immense contributions to the game we all love.
Looking at the players who have been nominated, younger poker fans might not know as much as players such as Bill Smith, Kathy Liebert, Ted Forrest or ‘Miami’ John Cernuto. All are legends in their own right, and may very well receive the most nomination points, with votes coming from those already in the Poker Hall of Fame.
That point is crucial. While poker fans will be far more aware of Mike ‘The Mouth’ Matusow due to his recent ‘The Mouth’ podcast, Patrik Antonius thanks to his high roller success, Josh Arieh for his stunning record in WSOP events across 20 years or Barny Boatman, the recently announced oldest member of Team PokerStars. It may fly in the face of logic given many voting members are of an older generation, but we think that the winner will come from this clutch of four players.
Who Will Win the Poker Hall of Fame Induction?
Of those four, Antonius, Arieh and Boatman have more recent sway than Matusow. If this had been the list of nominees a decade ago, Matusow might have been on a level playing ground with Antonius and Arieh for example. But Arieh’s recent WSOP results and Antonius’ resurgence in poker events puts that pair ahead of ‘The Mouth’ in our opinion.
Barny Boatman’s chances are very difficult to quantify. The British poker legend has two WSOP bracelets and became the oldest-ever EPT Main Event winner when he took the title in Paris earlier this year. A PokerStars sponsorship followed and Boatman’s status as a legend was already assured thanks to his co-creation of The Hendon Mob.
The only possible factor that goes against the highly-deserving ‘Mobster’ is his nationality. Famously, the Poker Hall of Fame has often overlooked players from outside of the United States, and in particular, Great Britain. Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott was only inducted posthumously after being overlooked for many years.
If we had to pick a player, we’d say that their surname will start with an ‘A’ for the reasons discussed. Antonius or Arieh? We can’t call it.
Who Was Left Off This Year’s List?
While all the living Poker Hall of Fame members will likely be freerolling the WSOP Event #95, the Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em event from Sunday, July 14, some who missed out last year will not be getting in during the 2024 announcement. That inauguration will come during the aforementioned event, but there are a few legends who made the list of nominations last year but missed out in 2024.
Jeremy Ausmus was nominated last year but despite multiple final table appearances at this year’s World Series of Poker and millions of dollars in winnings, the six-time bracelet winner misses out this year. The same is true for joint nominated pair Lon McEachren and Norman Chad. The WSOP commentators will have to focus on calling the drama rather than being a part of it this year.
The 2024 Poker Hall of Fame inductee will be announced during the $1,979-entry Event #95, with a bounty on the line for anyone who busts a legend. The announcement will be followed by an unveiling of the inductee’s Hall of Fame picture at the WSOP Hall of Fame Poker Room, which opened in 2023 in its permanent home at Horseshoe Las Vegas.
