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As expected, Daniel Negreanu has been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The other inductee is tournament director Jack McClelland, the induction ceremony is going to be held on November 9, at the start of the WSOP Main Event final table.
As we have previously reported [3], the nomination for the Poker Hall of Fame inductees has opened in July. After the public nomination process the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council has chosen the 10 players who had the chance of becoming part of poker history.
The 10 players were Chris Bjorin, Humberto Brenes, Bruno Fitoussi, Ted Forrest, Jen Harman, Bob Hooks, Mike Matusow, Jack McClelland, Daniel Negreanu and Huckleberry Seed, all of whom met the criteria required to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition
- Be a minimum of 40 years old at time of nomination
- 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
From the final 10 players, the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame and a panel of media workers decided who should be inducted this year. They announced their decision on October 23: Daniel Negreanu and Jack McClelland are the 2014 Poker Hall of Fame inductees.
"It's a big honor for me, to join so many great players in the Poker Hall of Fame, and maybe even bigger then this, I got inducted in my first year of eligibility, at age 40, much like the legendary Chip Reese" - Negreanu stated after the decision was made public.
The two new members of the Poker Hall of Fame are:
Daniel Negreanu: The Canadian Team PokerStars pro has been living in Las Vegas since he was 22, and is widely considered the best tournament player in the world. He has won $29.8 million throughout his career as well as six WSOP bracelets and two WPT titles. He is the only player in history to win the WSOP Player of the Year title twice, and is probably the most well-known player in poker. He has been involved with PokerStars for 7 years and is a great ambassador to the game, he regularly participates in charity events and is always willing to share his opinion regarding the issues in the game, which have led to things like the improvement of tournament structures.
Jack McClelland: He is one of the most accomplished tournament directors of the world. He used to be a semi-pro bowler, but moved to Las Vegas to support his ill mother. He started as a dealer but in the '80s he was already running the WSOP tournaments. From 2002 to 2013 he ran the Bellagio, one of the most famous casinos in the world. Throughout his career hee has worked for three Poker Hall of Famers, Eric Drache, Jack Binion and Bobby Baldwin. He only played as a hobby, but still managed to get four WSOP In-the-money finishes and rack up live tournament earnings of $132.233. McClelland has organized tournaments all around the world from England and Cyprus to Austria and Aruba. He has retired in 2013.
