Prominent high-stakes pro and six-time WSOP bracelet winner Brian Rast was named today as the 2023 enshrinee into the Poker Hall of Fame. Rast, 41, was elected in his second year of eligibility and becomes the 59th poker figure to be honored with PHOF induction.
“With a nearly 20-year-long career riddled with record-breaking wins and historic runs, Brian Rast is one of the best poker players we’ve ever seen,” said WSOP Vice President Jack Effel. “With the 2023 WSOP breaking records left and right, it only makes sense to put a record-setter himself amongst some of the greatest of all time. We are honored to induct Brian Rast into the Poker Hall of Fame and look forward to his successes to come.”
Rast has achieved success in both the live and online poker worlds. He's won millions online on numerous sites playing under his palindromic "tsarrast" handle, and his live legacy already ranks among the all-time greats. At the WSOP alone, he's won nearly $9 million to accompany his six bracelets, and he's won one of the WSOP's signature events, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship three different times. Rast picked up his sixth bracelet win and third PPC title earlier this summer, a very timely triumph for his PHOF prospects.
Rast's poker achievements don't stop there. His single largest payday to date came in 2015, when he earned $7,525,000 for winning the Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas. He's also a prior winner of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic,, and his global lifetime tournament winnings to date have topped $25 million.
Rast's induction was celebrated at a small gathering today at the WSOP before the start of the $1,979 Hall of Fame event. A photo of Rast was unveiled and added to the PHOF exhibit at the new 18-table Hall of Fame poker room at the Horseshoe. Rast also becomes eligible to vote for other would-be Hall of Famers in future years, joining 31 other living PHOF members.
“Poker is at the very heart of the Horseshoe brand,” said Jason Gregorec, SVP and General Manager of Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. “We’re thrilled to have the Hall of Fame Poker Room open as a year-round attraction for players and fans alike. The action won’t stop when the 2023 WSOP ends. Congratulations to Brian Rast for taking his rightful place here alongside the other legends of the game.”
