Poker's all-time money leader, Bryn Kenney, says the Poker Hall of Fame would be "a complete joke" if Justin Bonomo isn't inducted.
Bonomo made the eight-name shortlist for the class of 2026 and needs to pick up 22 votes from the 33 existing Hall of Fame members to be inducted. However, his outspoken political views, most recently on Palestine, have made him a polarizing figure in the poker world.
Bonomo posted on X, saying he believed there were Hall of Fame members who "will never consider me due to my pro-Palestinian politics." Kenney responded that if Bonomo wasn't inducted because of his outspoken political views, then "the whole thing is a joke and don't put me in there either."
Justin Bonomo has competed at the highest level for almost 20 years and is sixth on the all-time money list. Kenney: Judge players on results, not beliefs
In an interview with PokerOrg, Kenney said that players should be judged by their results – and that the Hall of Fame shouldn't be a popularity contest or be decided by players' political beliefs.
“I actually respect Justin a lot for being willing to speak about what he believes in and standing by it no matter what ridicule comes his way,” said Kenney. “I'm not going to say that I believe or I agree with everything that anyone says. But we're talking about poker here. And we're talking about Justin deserving to be in the Poker Hall of Fame for his poker career.”
Kenney battled Bonomo live and online for many years and considers him one of the toughest opponents of his career.
“In 2018, Justin had the best year that anyone ever had by far," Kenney added. "He won the One Drop in Vegas. It was an insane year. I was looking at it and thought, 'Wow. Nobody's ever going to have a year that's better than that one.' I think he cashed for $20,000,000. He’s played the highest stakes of everything in poker and continued to be very successful.”
"Justin was one of the top five toughest opponents from my perspective of all the people that I've ever battled against in my career. If Justin hits every single criterion to enter the Hall of Fame and has stood the test of time in the highest-stakes cash games and tournaments, there's actually no argument for Justin not being in the WSOP Hall of Fame.”
Kenney is widely expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible after turning 40 later this year.
Asked whether he'd accept induction next year if Bonomo wasn't elected, Kenney paused before replying, “If Justin's not in there, I don't care if I'm in there. Because I don't take the HOF as a serious thing. If Bonomo’s not in the Hall of Fame, I think it's a complete joke. If that’s the case, I'm not showing up anywhere to pick up my award.”
