ESPN Poker Blog

Posted by Andrew Feldman

After months of deliberation and wondering, the 2009 Hall of Fame class has finally been announced. Looking at the list of potential Hall of Famers this year, I believed only one player on that list would be a lock. He received the support of the players and the media, and as it turned out, the result was exactly as expected, with Mike Sexton earning the spot to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame on Nov. 7.

"I am deeply honored to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and it is particularly special because for the first time it was a process that involved the fans, the media and the living members of the hall of fame," said Sexton in a news release. "To me the most meaningful aspect of this process was the acceptance by the living hall of famers who welcomed me into their exclusive club."

During a special ceremony held during the dinner break of the final table, Sexton will become the 38th member of the Hall of Fame. He is extremely deserving of the honor. Poker fans around the world will think of Sexton as the announcer of the World Poker Tour, but the WSOP bracelet winner can play a little bit, too. With more than $3.7 million in career poker winnings, the 62-year-old has 47 WSOP cashes, which include an amazing 20 final tables.

"Sexton's obviously a solid choice for the Poker Hall of Fame," said Lance Bradley, editor in chief of Bluff magazine. "He has been the game's biggest ambassador during its biggest period of growth. In that same time, he's also posted solid results against tough fields."

Those solid results include a fourth-place finish in the pot-limit hold 'em world championship at the WSOP in 2008 and a 420th place finish in the 2009 WSOP main event. Sexton is also extremely philanthropic; he has given hundreds of thousands to multiple charities and founded Poker Gives, which its Web site says is "a way for the poker world to 'Give Back' to worthwhile charity organizations."

"More than any single poker player, Mike Sexton promoted the game of poker throughout the '90s and into this decade," poker pro Howard Lederer says. "He had a singular belief in the game as something that could be much bigger. Every poker player owes a great debt of thanks to Mike for helping to extend poker to places we could have never imagined before."

In addition to being a true ambassador for the game, Sexton also helped found the Tournament of Champions, supported the fight for the legality of online poker, and was a representative of the poker players during some tough times on Day 1D during the 2009 WSOP main event.

In order to be inducted Sexton needed to earn at least 75 percent of the vote from the panel of 30 (15 active poker Hall of Famers and 15 members of the media). Those who were nominated but didn't make it in this year (Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Tom McEvoy, Dan Harrington, Men Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel) will still be eligible for future induction.

The Million Dollar Challenge

After the "Face the Ace" debacle, my expectations for FOX's new poker show weren't all that high. However, being a poker junkie, I definitely caught the first episode after the first football game Sunday and was relatively relieved that it wasn't another complete bomb for the poker industry. Just incase anyone isn't aware of how this one plays out, an amateur faces off against a celebrity in the first round, a PokerStars pro in the second round and then Daniel Negreanu in the third round. Beat Negreanu in back-to-back heads-up matches and the amateur wins a million. Not bad.

Daniel Negreanu really plays a great role. His assists during the first two rounds are solid, as he offers his own thoughts about the situations. While he can't see the hole cards during the first round, the celebrities the amateur is playing aren't the best at covering up their tells, so Negreanu can capitalize that way. The second round is a different story, since Negreanu can see the hole cards and talk through the hands with the player. Essentially, he's telling the contestants what to do, since if they win, he gets $10,000 donated to the charity of his choice.

"I'm thrilled to be part of this show," Negreanu said. "I love the concept, and I know that it will be packed with great poker and all the bells and whistles, hip graphics and drama."

The teamwork stops during the third round, when the amateur faces off against Negreanu for $100,000. If the player can beat Negreanu, his chance at a million is closer than ever. The first contestant on the show, a priest, defeated Negreanu and has earned his seat at the Table of Champions, where he'll face off against other challengers to earn the right to face Negreanu for the million.

The show had its ups with Negreanu's contribution, its downs with some of the overall corniness and its in-betweens featuring the editing of hands during play when all of a sudden the chip stacks are reversed and the blinds are high. That said, it's worth a watch if you want to see Negreanu at his best and some celebrities at the poker table.

According to Negreanu's blog, "I really think the show hits a demographic that is mostly totally new to poker and likely doesn't watch shows like PAD, High Stakes Poker, or even the WSOP."

Given that it's on right after football on Sundays, that's probably correct.

Small blinds: Phil Laak won the PartyPoker.com World Open V. … Daniel Negreanu questioned the existence of Ultimate Bet on the Hardcore Poker Show. … Joe Cada will be on next week's "ESPN Inside Deal." … Why didn't someone tell Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho that they shouldn't bring a rolling suitcase on the Amazing Race? … Mike Matusow is the Dean of Deepstacks University. OK then. … A.J. Benza will no longer be the co-host of "High Stakes Poker" on GSN. … In other "High Stakes Poker" news, PokerStars.net has come in as the main sponsor. … Brandon Hall won the Aruba Poker Classic, beating Robert Mizrachi heads-up for the title. … I'm wondering how Bluff Media did not get a vote in the Hall of Fame ballot. Strange to me. … Howard Lederer beat out 19 players to win the $10,000 HORSE event at Festa al Lago. Yes, 19 players. Something tells me that's not a good sign for the industry. … Aaron Gustavson edged out Peter Eastgate for the EPT London main event title. Gustavson earned 850,000 pounds for the win. … ESPN The Magazine's Body issue featured Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen. … Phil Ivey will be featured on "E:60" on Nov. 3. Trust me, I've heard the stories about the trip, and this all-access piece will live up to the hype. … Courts in South Carolina ruled poker as a "game of skill." That's good; now can the rest of the country do it? … Full Tilt Poker released some cool new features this week to their game client. Now players can "run-it-twice" like they do on High Stakes Poker and also play "Cashout Tournaments" where players can trade in their stack for a portion of the prize pool.