Poker Hall of Fame Announces 2008 Inductees
Source: Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
Oct 31, 2008 - 9:49:49 AM
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WSOP Bracelet Winners Duane “Dewey” Tomko & Henry Orenstein To Become 36th & 37th Members
Induction Ceremony to be Held as Part of Poker’s Biggest Night At Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater Prior To World Series of Poker® Main Event Final Table
LAS VEGAS (October 31, 2008) – The Poker Hall of Fame has announced its 2008 Class, and what a class it is.
Duane “Dewey” Tomko, a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, a two-time Main Event runner-up, and the holder of the longest consecutive Main Event participation record (35 years) will become poker’s newest Hall of Fame member.
Tomko will enter alongside Henry Orenstein, a Holocaust survivor who won the 1996 World Series of Poker Seven-Card Stud Championship and also cashed twice in the Main Event, including a final table finish at the 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Orenstein perhaps is better known for his real occupation – an inventor – holding more than 100 patents, including those for Sesame Street toys, Snoopy toys, the Transformers and U.S. Patent 5,451,054, which gave Orenstein the exclusive right to detect and display hole cards in poker games.
It was this patent, known today as the “Hole Card Cam” or “Hole Cam” which made poker a made-for-TV attraction, creating an estimated 150,000 jobs worldwide, spurring the meteoric rise of poker and helping popularize the game to heights never before seen in its long history.
Orenstein and Tomko will be enshrined on Sunday, November 9 at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suites® Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas during the finale of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event championship. ESPN will show portions of the ceremony during their November 11 telecast.
The enshrinement and WSOP final table play are open and free to the public. Seating is available on a first come, first serve basis.
The Poker Hall of Fame, established in 1979, was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment along with the World Series of Poker in 2004. Though the Hall of Fame is virtual in nature, its membership includes poker's most influential players and other important contributors to the game. With Orenstein and Tomko, there are 16 living members.
The main criteria for the Poker Hall of Fame is as follows:
- A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
- Played for high stakes
- Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers
- Stood the test of time
- Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.
The entire list of 37 Poker Hall of Fame members includes (alphabetical with year of induction in parenthesis):
Tom Abdo (1982)
Crandell Addington (2005)
Bobby Baldwin (2003)
Billy Baxter (2006)
Tom Abdo (1982)
Crandell Addington (2005)
Bobby Baldwin (2003)
Billy Baxter (2006)
Lyle Berman (2002)
Joe Bernstein (1983)
Benny Binion (1990)
Jack Binion (2005)
Bill Boyd (1981)
Doyle Brunson (1988)
Johnny Chan (2002)
T.J. Cloutier (2006)
Nick “The Greek” Dandolos (1979)
Barbara Enright (2007)
Fred “Sarge” Ferris (1989)
T “Blondie” Forbes (1980)
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Henry Green (1986)
Murph Harrold (1984)
Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth (2007)
James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok (1979)
Red Hodges (1985)
Edmond Hoyle (1979)
Berry Johnston (2004)
Jack Keller (1993)
Felton “Corky” McCorquodale (1979)
Roger Moore (1997)
Johnny Moss (1979)
Henry Orenstein (2008)
Walter Clyde “Puggy” Pearson (1987)
Julius Oral “Little Man” Popwell (1996)
Thomas Austin “Amarillo Slim” Preston (1992)
David “Chip” Reese (1991)
Jack “Treetop” Straus (1988)
Duane “Dewey” Tomko (2008)
Stu “The Kid” Ungar (2001)
Red Winn (1979)
Sid Wyman (1979) |
ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2008, the event attracted more than 58,000 entrants from 124 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $180 million in prize money as players competed for game’s most coveted trophy, a WSOP bracelet. Harrah’s License Company, LLC., an affiliate of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., has owned and operated the WSOP since 2004 and over the last five years, fostered an increase in player participation by nearly 300-percent. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.
ABOUT HARRAH’S ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos and the World Series of Poker®. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit www.harrahs.com.
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