The Poker Hall of Fame, in its 31-year history since Benny Binion first thought up the idea in 1979, has singled out only 38 players with poker’s version of immortality.  This exclusive, uncompromising list, created slowly over time, often serves as a peacock sized feather in a player’s cap, showing them that after a lifetime of being somehow involved with the game, they’ve got nothing left to prove to their peers.  The honor of being chosen for induction wont really make any player rich, however it’s still an honor hoped for by many, if not most, of the top pros in the game. 

Tournament legends Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel, are two pros that can now stop hoping, as it was recently announced both will be inducted into the Hall this year in Las Vegas, right before heads-up play begins to decide who will become the 2010 WSOP Main Event champion.

Both originally Eastcoasters, with ties to New York’s famous poker proving ground known as the Mayfair Club, these two men have been friends and competitors for decades, and it seems somehow fitting and appropriate that they should enter the Hall together, though both clearly have the accomplishments to get in on their own.

Seidel, most famous perhaps for his runner-up finish to Johnny Chan in the 1988 World Series of Poker Main Event- immortalized in the movie Rounders- has won an impressive eight World Series of Poker bracelets in his career- in five different poker disciplines.  Since 1988, Erik has over two-dozen cashes worth at least six-figures, including a $250,000 second place cash just this year during the NBC National Heads-Up Championship.  In total, according to sites that keep track of this sort of thing- like TheHendonMob.com- he has earned over $10,000,000 playing just tournament poker alone, enough to put him in the top ten on the all-time money winners list, despite having never benefited from a huge post-poker boom, WSOP main event final table cash, like many of the other players in that top ten.

Dan Harrington, in turn, also has some impressive tournament results to say the least.  Some highlights from his HendonMob page would include 2 WSOP bracelet wins, a World Poker Tour main event win, and seemingly one of the few things Seidel hasn’t accomplished yet, a WSOP Main Event win in 1995.  Not content with just that Main Event showing, Dan is perhaps most well regarded for reaching the WSOP Main Event final table a record four times, including back-to-back years in 2003 and 2004. 

Harrington has over $6.5 million in lifetime tournament winnings, however arguably his biggest contribution to the game comes from his writing, having penned- with his writing partner Bill Robertie- the Harrington on Hold ‘em series.  This series, most notably the original Harrington On Hold ‘em: Expert Strategy For No-Limit Tournaments, is considered by many pros to be must read material and arguably, the most game changing treatise since Doyle Brunson’s original Super System.

On November 8th, at the Penn & Teller Theater, both Harrington and Seidel will officially become the 39th and 40th members of the Poker Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of other legendary recent entries like Phil Hellmuth (2007), Duane “Dewey” Tomko (2008) and Mike Sexton, last year’s sole inductee.

For more information on the Poker Hall of Fame, its requirements for entry, and the list of the other 8 players up for entry including Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Ivey and PokerRoad’s Barry Greenstein, that thanks to Seidel and Harrington, will now have to wait at least one more year, visit www.wsop.com.