Mike Sexton Into The Poker Hall of Fame

Mike Sexton, generally regarded as one of the nicest and most influential figures in poker’s short history, will join the likes of Stu Ungar and Doyle Brunson in poker’s most hallowed halls – Poker Hall of Fame. Mike is 38 th person to be inducted since the Hall was founded in 1979. 15 media experts and the 15 living members of the HoF each voted for their favorite candidates, chosen from a 9-strong shortlist. The nine nominees were generated by the public, a controversial new tactic that produced mixed results. The list was initially composed of 10 players, but the HoF commission elected to remove Tom Dwan on the grounds of his youth. The other nominees, who all failed to gain entry this year, where Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Tom McEvoy, Scotty Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Dan Harrington. Each voter selected up to three candidates for entry, but in order to be inducted the nominees would need over 75% of the field to also pick them. Mike Sexton was the only man to accrue a high enough overall approval. WSOP communications director Seth Palansky confirmed that not all of the 30 voters cast their full compliment of votes. Although the quality of Negreanu and Ivey is unquestioned, many (included Daniel himself) cited their relatively young age as a barrier to entry. Sexton, on the other hand, appeared to be a shoe-in. A number of media figures with voting privileges openly voiced their support for Mike, and influential godfather of poker Doyle Brunson also announced that he would be voting for Sexton. Mike has some enviable tournament results. Over his 20 year career he has recorded 46 WSOP cashes, almost half of which were final table finishes. In addition to a 1989 bracelet, he also won the 2006 Tournament of Champions. He subsequently donated half of his $1 million prize to charity. However, Mike is better known in his role as *The Ambassador of Poker*. His influence on the poker’s formative years and the early 2000s poker explosion can not be over stated. Howard Lederer stated recently that, “In terms of making this poker boom happen, he’s the most important pro there was.” Throughout his career, Sexton has been an advocate for poker. Most recently he served as an expert witness in a South Carolina court room, where he was instrumental in convincing a judge that poker is a game of skill, not chance, during the trial of five South Carolina poker players for playing a raked home-based Texas Hold’em tournament. (Though the five were initially convicted, the circuit judge overseeing the appeal of five Mount Pleasant SC poker players decided to reverse the players’ convictions.) We heartily congratulate Mike Sexton for his induction to the 2009 Poker Hall of Fame!