Who Would You Select Among the 2013 Poker Hall of Fame Nominees?

In a rush today and so just thought I’d post a quick one noting the announcement of the 10 finalists for this year’s Poker Hall of Fame. I’ve had the honor in the past of being one of those called upon to vote in this process, and as I look at the finalists for this year I’m again thinking about how difficult a task it will be when it comes to deciding between them.

As you’ve probably read elsewhere, the following players all made this year's list of finalists: Chris Björin, Humberto Brenes, David Chiu, Thor Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, Tom McEvoy, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, and Huck Seed.

Of those, McEvoy and Nguyen have both been nominees for each of the past five years -- indeed for every year since they instituted this new process by which fans were able to nominate candidates over at WSOP.com and then the panel of living Hall of Famers and poker media then vote on finalists culled from those who were nominated. Harman has also been nominated each of the last four years.

Meanwhile four of this year’s nominees are back for a second go-round, with Björin, Chiu, and Hansen on the ballot for a second consecutive year while Seed is on for a second time after being a finalist once before in 2011. The other three candidates this year are all first-time nominees -- Brenes, Matusow, and Mortensen.

Matusow won his fourth WSOP bracelet this past summer and has the unique distinction of also having made a couple of WSOP Main Event final tables (in 2001 and 2005). Mortensen of course won the WSOP ME back in 2001 and very nearly made another final table this year before being ousted in 10th.

Brenes, meanwhile, might surprise some as a nominee, but I knew his nomination was a distinct possibility after learning about a groundswell of support for him when at LAPT Peru a couple of months ago, something I noted in one of my reports from Lima for the PokerStars blog. Brenes’s standing in that part of the world as an important ambassador of the game is not unlike that of Hansen in Norway where Hansen is viewed as the “Norwegian Godfather of Poker.”

Interestingly, six of the 10 nominees were born outside of the U.S. (Björin, Brenes, Chiu, Hansen, Mortensen, and Nguyen). Four won WSOP Main Event titles (McEvoy, Seed, Nguyen, Mortensen). And all 10 have won at least two WSOP bracelets.

Gotta think McEvoy, Nguyen, and Harman will have an edge when it comes to the voting, given their having been on ballots for several years running by this point, but like I say those voting will have a tough decision to make. Only two at most will be voted in to join the other 44 already inducted in the Poker Hall of Fame.

Say you could only pick two of these candidates... how would you cast your vote?

Travel Report: LAPT6 Peru, Day 1a -- Poker Made Passion

Was a fast-moving day yesterday at LAPT Peru with the first of two Day 1 flights coming and going in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

There were 213 total entries yesterday (including a number of players who busted in the first four levels and re-entered), with only 55 making it through the day to come back for Friday’s Day 2. Today comes Day 1b, the second and last Day 1 flight, and expectations are we’ll see many of those who didn’t it make it through yesterday coming back to try again today.

There were several highlights yesterday, many of which I was able to include in my posts for the PokerStars blog throughout the day. One was the meal we enjoyed downstairs from the poker room at the Eliazar, the restaurant in the Atlantic City Casino where I’ve had multiple good meals during my visits to Lima.

Had a tasty potato and tilapia dish for a starter, breaded chicken with rice for the main course, then a delicious pastry-based dessert with caramel and jelly.

The latter had us laughing with the menu description thanks to the inclusion of an English translation that went “I have left the dessert made passion” which Ray and I subsequently tried our best to develop into a catch phrase for the rest of the evening.

Humberto Brenes is here, of course, and after re-entering once early on he made it through to Day 2. As often happens on the LAPT, the “Shark” was the source of few more highlights yesterday.

On these LAPT stops I’m always reminded of Brenes’s elevated status as a genuine poker celebrity in this part of the world. He sometimes gets referred to as the “Godfather of Costa Rican poker” or the like, and it’s easy to see how much others tend to enjoy and appreciate his presence at the tables.

There were a few hands late in the day, all-in situations that Brenes helped turn into celebrations with his involuntary expressions of excitement, that caused us to think of that new word we have all learned in the last month -- “Sharknado.” (One such scene is pictured, with Brenes on the left.)

I remember a few years ago when many were first exposed to the antics of Brenes on ESPN, and how there were a few less-than-enthused reactions from some quarters who thought he might be unduly playing to the cameras. But in truth his passion for the game is always genuine, and in the context of an LAPT event adds considerably as a reminder to all much fun card-playing can be.

Have to run as Day 1b is approaching fast. Sounds like we’ll see more today than yesterday in terms of entries, so there’ll be more tournament to cover. Check in over at the PokerStars blog for reports all day.