Carlos Mortensen should’ve been a first year eligible inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Seems like there has been more commentary/social media interaction and interest on 2012′s
Poker Hall of Fame nominations than year’s past.
While we could debate until we’re blue in the face
that last year’s inductees weren’t the right call, we could make a bigger case this year that some potential candidates who are MOST deserving didn’t even make the finalist cut.
There are four carryover noms from last year (
Scotty Nguyen,
Tom McEvoy,
Jennifer Harmon-Traniello, and
John Juanda). That means math math math there are six new candidates.
And some major snubs.
So who do we feel are the biggest omissions from the list?
First and foremost, let’s discuss everyone’s amigo,
Carlos Mortensen.
Mortensen turned 40 in April, and thus was eligible. Maybe not enough people knew this, and that’s why he did not get a nod. But Mortensen should have been, unquestionably, a first ballot inductee. His credentials blow everyone else out of the water. He’s widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) live no-limit hold’em player ever. He has over $10M in career earnings. He’s the only player to ever win both the WSOP Main Event and WPT Championship. He’s tied for most WPT titles (3). He was the first person to ever translate the human genome. He ate 89 “nuclear” buffalo wings once in one sitting.
Along with Mortensen, most of the “wait, what?”‘s have been directed towards
Huck Seed. Huck was on the finalist list last year (we’re pretty sure–Kevmath confirm?). He’s also a Main Event winner with four total bracelets. He absolutely owned the
NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship for about five years, eventually winning a title. He’s a skilled mixed game and cash game player. He dates black chicks, so he’s probably hung like Dwyte Pilgrim.
Two other players at least worthy of consideration (more so than who made the ballot, at least):
Ted Forrest (was on the list last year) and
Humberto Brenes (insufferably annoying, but legitimate tournament record for decades and decent international ambassador).
On the non-player side–three people who have been totally overlooked the past few years: the writers of
Rounders (
Brian Koppelmandark_stars_parents_suck_the_dicks_off_cane_toads_t hen_fuck_them_back_on_comdotcom.comanddark_stars_p arents_suck_the_dicks_off_cane_toads_then_fuck_the m_back_on_comdotcom.com
David Levien) and
Steve Lipscomb.
Why the snub? Look at last year.
Linda Johnson made it into the 2011 Hall of Fame. Sweet lady. Eventually deserving. No personal knock on her at all.
But she mostly made it in on her “contributions to the game” cred. Now, who would you argue did more for the growth of poker: Linda Johnson, or the two people who created what is widely considered the best poker movie ever (
Rounders) and the TV show that first really popularized poker in the U.S. (WPT).
Ok.
So let’s get these guys on the ballot at least next year.
What’s your take? Vote on your biggest snubs below and add your thoughts.
Poker Hall of Fame Biggest Snub
Related posts:
- 2010 Poker Hall of Fame Nominees – Who Do You Like?
- 2012 Poker Hall of Fame Finalists Announced
- 2010 Poker Hall of Fame Class: Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel
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