Drache and Roberts Will Be Inducted on Tuesday, October 30th

Published on October 18th, 2012 3:06 pm EST

Eric Drache and Brian "Sailor" Roberts have been elected to the Poker Hall of Fame and will be officially inducted on Tuesday, October 30th.

Drache and Roberts, who were nominated by the public and voted in by a 36-person panel consisting of existing Poker Hall of Famers and members of the media, will be the 43rd and 44th members of the Poker Hall of Fame. Other members include Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein and Benny Binion.

The main criteria for election to the Poker Hall of Fame are:

-player has played poker against top competition
-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

Non-players can be elected to the Hall as well, provided that they have "contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results".

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Brian "Sailor" Roberts, a member of the "Texas Rounders" along with Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim, owned two World Series of Poker bracelets when he passed away in 1995, including a World Series of Poker main event bracelet (1975). Roberts also made the final table of the 1982 Main event. Roberts, who served in the Korean War, was also a world class contract bridge player.

Eric Drache is a noted seven-card stud specialist who finished in second place in three different Seven-card stud WSOP events. Drache, who served as the WSOP's tournament director from 1973 to 1988, is responsible for the creation of satellite events, which changed the poker world forever. Drache, who also served as the card room manager of casinos such as Silverbird and the Golden Nugget, is now working in the television industry. Eric Drache has made a number of lasting contributions to the world of poker.

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Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Thor Hansen, George Hardie, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, John Juanda, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen were named as finalists for induction to the Poker Hall of Fame this year but didn't make it in. They will remain eligible for future induction.

Source: WSOP.com - Poker Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2012

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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker