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Brown, Negreanu Could Land Poker Hall of Fame Spots

Chad Brown is one of the hot picks for this year’s Poker Hall of Fame. (Image: PokerStarsblog.com)

It’s the most prestigious club in the poker world and over the next three weeks the general public is being given the chance to vote for the next Poker Hall of Fame inductee.

Having welcomed some of the game’s finest pros over the last few years, the WSOP is now looking for two more luminaries to shine in  its roster of stars and to help guide their decision, the organizers are asking  fans for their opinions. In a first round of betting, a public ballot will run until August 15, and anyone with an interest in poker is being asked to submit their vote.

No Newbies Allowed

To ensure there’s some sort of order to the round of public voting, any player that makes it onto the list is required to meet some or all of the following stipulations:

A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition.
Played for high stakes.
Be a minimum of 40 years old at time of nomination.
Played consistently well, gaining the respect of peers.
Stood the test of time.

Although some points are slightly more open to interpretation than others, the main point the organizers are hoping to get across is that an unknown Internet pro who is barely out of his or her teens won’t be eligible.

Contributing Factors

In addition to being able to vote for a player, the public can choose a non-playing member of the community as well, as long as their efforts have directly contributed to the growth of the game. When the voting closes on August 15, the eligible names will be put before a committee who will vet the suggestions before passing them pass on to the 21 (living) Hall of Fame members.

Each member will then rank the most worthy candidate, and the two players with the most votes will join the likes of Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar on the Wall of Famers inside the iconic Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas.

Negreanu and Brown Likely Nominees

Last year, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen were extended an invite to sit inside the Hall of Fame, and this year a number of potential candidates have emerged. Aside from the likes of Daniel Negreanu, who turns 40 on July 26th and will therefore be eligible for inclusion, the recently deceased Chad Brown seems like a safe bet to make it in as well.

The former poker pro passed away on July 2 this summer at aged 52, after a long running battle with cancer, but after almost two decades in the game, the American actor and sportsman-turned-poker-player won the affections of his peers. On top of that, he banked more than $3.5 million in prize money and, despite never winning a WSOP title, Chad was awarded an honorary bracelet just days before his passing in hospice care.

With many fans attending Brown’s memorial tournament in his honor, as well as a slew of well wishes that have rung out across the community since his death, it’s likely we’ll see his name on a shortlist this year.