The Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) has released the list of seven prominent women from the poker world who are finalists for enshrinement in WiPHoF's Class of 2022. The seven women -- Angelica Hael, Liv Boeree, Kristen Bicknell Foxen, Terry King, Vanessa Selbst, Kara Scott, and Jennifer Tilly -- will be voted upon in the next week by WiPHoF's election panel, comprised of the 19 living WiPHOF members, eight media and industry representatives, and one collective vote derived from a public-voting process.
The top three vote-getters among the seven finalists will be announced in mid-November, then honored at a December 14 induction ceremony at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The seven finalists, according to WiPHoF, were the most-nominated of 54 women whose names were submitted during WiPHoF's public-nomination process.
Four of this year's finalists -- Hael, King, Scott, and Tilly -- return from 2018, the last time WiPHoF honored inducted new members, specifically Mario Ho and WiPHoF founder Lupe Soto. Boeree, Foxen, and Selbst are younger and highly successful pro players making their first appearance as WiPHoF finalists after reaching the hall's minimum age for eligibility. The 2020 induction cycle was cancelled due to pandemic considerations.
Public may vote on figures to be honored
Among the new wrinkles added in 2022 is the cumulative vote awarded to the poker public. Interested voters may contribute to the election process by submitting their choices at the Google Docs-based 2022 WiPHoF Public Vote page. Each public voter (an email address is required) may cast up to ten votes in total, for either one or multiple candidates. The voting results will then be tallied into into a single, cumulative 10-vote ballot that will be one of the 28 maximum ballots considered for induction.
The public voting ends on October 14th. WiPHoF's eligibility requirements for induction are as follows:
a) A candidate must have been active as a player or industry leader for a minimum of 10 years prior to nomination and 35 yrs of age or older.
b) Player/industry leader must have contributed to the world of poker in some significant way. For example, a candidate may qualify by either winning major poker tournaments, gained prominence through their poker success, or by making significant contributions to the industry of poker.
c) Player/industry leader candidate must be a proponent of women in poker- i.e.: refrain from publicly criticizing women’s tournaments (emphasis by WiPHoF).
d) All nominees must be approved by the Organization Committee and current Hall Members.
Brief biographies for each of the seven 2022 WiPHoF finalists are available via WiPHoF's home page.
The 21 existing WiPHoF members, and the year of their enshrinement, are as follows:
Class of 2008 (charter inductees)
Barbara Enright
Linda Johnson
Marsha Waggoner
Susie Isaacs
Class of 2009
Cyndy Violette
Jan Fisher
June Field
Class of 2010
Billie Brown
Kathy Liebert
Jennifer Harman
Class of 2011
Margie Heintz
Phyllis Caro
Kristy Gazes–Green
Class of 2012
JJ Liu
Kathy Raymond
Class of 2014
Deborah Giardina
Allyn Shulman
Class of 2016
Debbie Burkhead
Victoria Coren
Class of 2018
Maria Ho
Lupe Soto
Media/industry voting panel trimmed for 2022 cycle
Another change to WiPHoF's voting process is a trimming of the "media panel" that also votes on the finalists. In 2018, an overlarge 23-person media/industry contingent had voting rights, though a few of those 23 are no longer active in the industry. Rather than abandon the media element, however, in the controversial manner imposed by the Caesars-owned Poker Hall of Fame, WiPHoF has selected a representative eight-member panel for 2022.
The eight media and industry members with 2022 WiPHoF voting rights include, in alphabetical order, Jack Effel, Mori Eskandani, Haley Hintze, Chad Holloway, Jennifer Newell, Julio Rodriguez, Matt Savage, and Robbie Strazynski. Bernard Lee, Dan Ross, and Earl Burton have been named as alternate media voters.
Featured image source: Women in Poker Hall of Fame
