After a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) has reawakened with an enshrinement process that will see one or more deserving women added to WiPHoF's roll of prominent female players and industry workers. The first step in that process is a public-nomination window, in which anyone can nominate their favorite women in poker for consideration by WiPHoF's selection committee.
The public-nomination window opens today and will remain open through September 1.
Why it's been more than four years since the last time WiPHoF helped honor prominent women in the poker world is yet another pandemic-related tale. WiPHoF conducts elections only in even-numbered years, and the entire 2020 election cycle was shelved after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The biennial induction phase traditionally includes a banquet and other events, and is typically held during Las Vegas's Women's Poker Week activities in June.
This year, however, the festivities were shifted to the fall to ensure that all steps in the months-long process could be handled properly, and that the induction ceremony, scheduled for 10 am on December 17, 2022, likely at Resorts World Las Vegas, can be held as envisioned.
Qualifications for consideration
The Women in Poker Hall of Fame, which was founded in 2008, has honored 20 women to date for their playing excellence and/or their contributions to the game. The most recent enshrinees were Mario Ho and WiPHoF founder Lupe Sote, who were inducted in 2018.
The requirements for WiPHoF consideration are as follows:
- 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.
- 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.
- Player/industry leader candidate must be a proponent of women in poker- i.e.: refrain from publicly criticizing women’s tournaments.
- All nominees must be approved by the Organization Committee and current Hall Members.
2022 WiPHoF Timeline
There's a three-phase process involved in selection each cycle's inductees. Though the dates have been shifted by several months compared to a normal WiPHoF year, the three phases involve remain largely unchanged from earlier cycles. These phases are as follows:
Nominations:
- Thursday, Aug 18th – Open public nominations begin.
- Thursday, Sept 1st – Public nominations close
- Thursday, Sept 8th – WiPHoF Committee reviews nominations, ensures eligibility requirements are met.
- Friday, Sept 9th – Eligible candidates are sent to the Hall members for review. These members then vote for the top eight (8) candidates to be placed on the finalists ballot.
- Thursday Sept 15th – WiPHoF Committee reviews ballot selections and constructs bios for pending finalists.
Voting:
- Thursday, Sept 27th – Voters receive the eight-person finalists ballot to review. The WiPHoF voting panel consists of all living WiPHoF members plus a large number of veteran industry professionals and writes.
- Saturday, Oct 1st – The eight 2022 WiPHoF finalists are announced publicly.
- Monday Oct 10th – Finalist voting deadline. Each voter can choose up to three finalists.
- Monday Oct 17th – The committee will tally all the ballots.
The 2022 WiPHoF honorees will be publicly announced on October 27th. Those honorees will be feted at the December 17 ceremony, with the specific location and time yet to be announced.
Featured image source: Haley Hintze
