Last year was a difficult one. Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic upset how things function, from daily life as well as shopping, jobs, and entertainment. For the poker world, the onset of the coronavirus led to issues involving land-based events. Operators were unable to host regularly scheduled events due to the threat of spreading the virus on a large scale. Several events were shut down including the WSOP Main Event. Because of this, many people felt that the Poker Hall of Fame would not have a 2020 inductee as well. But fast forward a few months and the WSOP Main Event was scheduled for online and one person has been inducted, Huck Seed!

Newest Poker Hall of Fame Member

Just a few months ago, it was announced that the WSOP Main Event would take place partially online, at WSOP.com and GGPoker. The outcome has not taken place as of yet, as it is scheduled for this week. However, the newest inductee of the Poker Hall of Fame has been added. When the Main Event was changed up for 2020, the WSOP announced the Poker Hall of Fame would induct one new member, instead of the standard two.

Once the votes were tallied, Seed was clearly the winner. The poker pro has been seen taking part in high-stakes cash games for years and has several tournament wins including four World Series of Poker gold bracelets. In total, Seed’s live tournament winnings come in at over $7.6 million.

As a resident of Las Vegas, Seed was excited to hear that he was nominated and would be the latest inductee. The poker player said that hearing the news reminded him of his early poker days, walking into the Binions Horseshoe casino and playing poker, admiring the other hall of famers on the wall. Seed said it feels good to now be in the company of the poker legends he once idolized.

The Voting Process

Every year, the voting process takes place the same way. People are nominated for induction and then the field is narrowed down to a small list. From that list, the living members of the Poker Hall of Fame will cast as many as 10 votes for the finalists. In total, there were 300 votes that could take place.

Seed earned the most at 76 votes. Matt Savage came in second with 51 votes and Isai Scheinberg came in third with 45 votes. It is interesting to note that Scheinberg was a controversial nominee. He is the founder of PokerStars that was involved in the Black Friday ordeal back in 2011. He has spent several years fighting charges for operating online poker services in the United States when legislation was in place to stop such operations.

While Schineberg faced several charges by the federal government, he helped to push poker to new heights for many years and ensured that players from Full Tilt Poker were reimbursed from Black Friday due to seized funds. Many people felt he deserved a spot in the Hall of Fame for all that he did for the poker community as a whole.

This year, as Seed was announced the newest inductee, it was done so with little fanfare. Traditionally, a ceremony is held but with the virus remaining an issue, only an announcement was made.