I recently saw a video where Snoop Dog was giving a speech after being inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Hall of Fame. Other people in this category that have been inducted are Mr. T, Pete Rose, and even Donald Trump. They also have a "warrior wing" in their Hall of Fame which includes of all people Joan Lunden.

To see more info about the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame scroll down about 3/4 way on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hall_of_Fame

I think having a Celebrity wing in the Poker Hall of Fame would add some pizzaz to the entity. There are countless Hollywood and other celebrities who enjoy poker and many of these people add to the overall good of the community. Why not take advantage of this fact and have a celebrity wing. People like Gabe Kaplan, Vince Van Patten, Matt Damon, etc could be added to the HOF yearly. This might help energize poker to some degree. Inducting people like let's say Matt Damon would probably get a lot of play on shows like Entertainment Tonight. It would also help make poker even more mainstream.

I'm okay with this, since I'm already not taking the HOF seriously.

Totally in favor of this, because most celebrities don't get enough attention, free bling, participation ribbons, and empty accolades these days. They need more.

Vince Van Patten appearing on Entertainment Tonight will definitely be the catalyst for the next boom.

Gabe Kaplan would be good for some laughs at a HOF Dinner speech.

So would Kevin Hart but I don't think he's stood the test of time yet.

Jennifer Tilly

Would be a great addition. Don't think I've ever seen her win on TV...

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=27528#

I know he has a -20% ROI in the main event, but come on. It's TELLY SAVALAS.

But do you take the HOFF seriously?

kevin hart should go in.

Gabe Kaplan
Larry Flynt
James Woods

They need to repair the main building before adding any extensions.

This is real?

(The 1992 ME pay structure and the fact that Telly Savalas played poker?!)

Mike Sexton had some good Telly Savalas poker stories in his autobiography.

*This is from Mike's brother's site, not directly excerpted from the book.*

"Once in the early eighties Mike was at work playing $30/$60 seven-card stud hi/lo split at the Dunes Hotel. Telly Savalas came into the poker room with an
entourage of friends and family and asked the floor man if he could sit behind one of the better seven-card hi/lo split players in the room. The floor man said
Mike Sexton was over there and is one of the best players in town, so let me ask him if he would mind if you sat behind him to watch. Mike responded, "That's
no problem at all. I look forward to meeting him." Mike was happy to meet Telly, famous for starring in the TV hit show, "Kojak", at the time and many major
movies, including The Dirty Dozen. Mike said Telly sat behind him watching him play for seven hours… and he never moved, as Mike would allow him to see
his hole cards to learn how the game should be played.Mike was impressed how cordial and polite Telly was at all times, as fans continually asked for an
autograph or to have their picture taken with him. Later in life, Mike would go to dinner with Telly, or go on a cruise with him, and Mike said, "Telly never
turned a fan down for an autograph or picture even though he was one of the biggest TV stars around! I learned a lot from Telly on the right way to treat fans,
not realizing then, that I would have to ever deal with signing autographs or be asked to have my picture taken with a fan who watched the WPT on Television.
Back in those days at the Dunes, we were 20 years away from what is referred to as the poker boom. Unfortunately, Telly Savalas passed away a few years
ago, but he touched my life in a very positive way I'll always be grateful for."

Getting back to Telly's story at the Dunes in the early eighties, the next night Telly entered the room to play for himself. I happened to be there myself and
witnessed how well Telly was doing in the game after his one lesson from Mike. You could see some of the pros in the game were starting to get annoyed, as
Telly would win and scoop another gigantic pot, with a big smile on his face.That's when an incident happened, as one of the steaming pros leaped to his feet
and bellowed out, "I know why they call you Maggot now!" This of course, was a reference to that psychotic character Telly played in the popular movie, The
Dirty Dozen. Telly was so easy-going and laid back in his demeanor and personality, he just laughed along with the rest of the table when the player tried to
insult him, and he just kept on winning the rest of the night. Telly glanced over at Mike in the game in his own way to say thanks, as they both smiled at each
other. Mike loved being around Telly Savalas."

It would be nice for those who are neither good poker players nor relevant celebrities to get some recognition.

This is the entire purpose of TRU TV.

Seeing as how Babs Enright is the most talented player in the Hall of Fame, I think she should branch off and form her own faction calling it, "The Babs Enright and Celebrity Friends Poker Hall of Fame."

So you're telling me dnegs isn't a celebrity?

I look forward to his podcast discussing how he should have a spot in both.

Possible candidates for induction into any future Poker Hall of Fame Celebrity Wing.

Gabe Kaplan
Matt Damon
Vince Van Patten
Jennifer Tilly
Guy Laliberte
Tobey Maguire
Ben Affleck
Montel Williams
Ray Romano
Leo DiCaprio
Brad Garrett
Don Cheadle
Dr. Jerry Buss
Larry Flynt
Kevin Hart
Leanne Tweeden
Shana Hyatt
Michael Phelps
Shannon Elizabeth
Bob Stupak

Whoops, I forgot the James Boys:

James "Maverick" Garner

James Woods

Well the current poker pit at Binions isn't used anymore. So I'm sure the current HoF wall can be expanded into the old poker room for the celebrity wing.

James Woods - 100%

I put up a thread 11 days ago about Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim getting into the Poker Hall of Fame--

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/2...21/?highlight=

--and surprisingly it got only 2 serious responses. I think this lack of response is fuel for the idea of having a celebrity wing in the HOF to give it some much needed pizzazz.

Or maybe the amount of responses should be a clue to get rid of the HOF because nobody cares about it?

And “nobody” includes the WSOP/Caesars (and most likely also the new owners) who don’t even make the effort to establish a physical location. That tells you everything you need to know about it.

But if your poker themed hotel opens, you can have your own hall of fame in there.