Moneymaker, Oppenheim 57th and 58th Members of Poker Hall of Fame

Published on July 16th, 2019 12:55 am EST

Earlier tonight, the Poker Hall of Fame officially inducted two new members into its prestigious club - Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim.

Moneymaker and Oppenheim became the 57th and 58th members of the Poker Hall of Fame after being voted in by the 30 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, as well as 21 members of the media.

Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Mike Matusow and Huck Seed were all nominated but failed to make it in this year.

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Chris Moneymaker has arguably had the biggest impact of anybody in poker, as it was his win in the 2003 World Series of Poker main event that started the "poker boom".

Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he qualified for a WSOP main event package on Pokerstars, and the rest is history. Moneymaker was the novice player that successfully navigated through a field filled with sharks, including Sammy Farha, the cigarette-smoking poker pro that Moneymaker bested in heads-up play to win the main event.

After Moneymaker's victory, millions of people all over the world thought that they could become rich and famous by playing poker as well, and the "poker boom" started, creating numerous multi-billion dollar businesses in the process.

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David Oppenheim doesn't have any WSOP bracelets, and he doesn't have tens of millions of dollars in lifetime tournament cashes, though he is regarded by his peers as being one of the best cash game players in the world.

Oppenheim is a very highly regarded mixed game player and there is no doubt that he is one of the most well-rounded poker players in the world.

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There is no doubt that Moneymaker and Oppenheim are two very worthy additions to the Poker Hall of Fame.

After tonight's induction ceremony, there are now 32 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame.


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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker