The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players and to serve as a tourist attraction to his casino. Binion was known for the creative ways in which he marketed his casino. In 1949, he convinced Johnny Moss and Nick "The Greek" Dandolos to play high stakes poker heads up where the public could watch them. In 1970, he invited a group of poker players to compete in what would be the first World Series of Poker (WSOP). When Harrah's Entertainment acquired the rights to the WSOP in 2004, it also assumed ownership of the Poker Hall of Fame. Currently, membership in the Poker Hall of Fame is handled directly by the WSOP.

As of 2011, 42 people have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, twenty of whom are still living.

Before the 2009 World Series of Poker, then-WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in 2009, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public. This move was intended to increase interest in the Hall. Almost immediately after this decision was announced, Party Poker started an online campaign to get its representative and World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton elected to the Hall. Other poker sites, namely PokerStars' Tom McEvoy, followed suit by pushing their own poker professionals. The requirements for the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:

A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field. The meaning of "Fame" has changed over the years, originally meaning "renown" as opposed to today's more common meaning of "celebrity".

In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia. Sometimes, the honorees' plaques may instead be posted on a wall (a '"wall of fame") or inscribed on a sidewalk (a "walk of fame" or an "avenue of fame"). In others, the hall of fame is more figurative, and just simply consists of a list of names of noteworthy individuals maintained by an organization or community.

The English-language term was first used for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College, in New York City, although its inspiration, the Ruhmeshalle in Munich, Germany, also means "Hall of Fame". The Walhalla Temple in Bavaria, Germany, is an even earlier hall of fame, conceived in 1807 and built between 1830 and 1842.

Daniel Negreanu (pronounced /nɨˈɡrɑːnoʊ/; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player of Romanian origin. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big part in the Pokerstars.net Big Game.

Negreanu was born in Toronto, Ontario. In 1967, his parents, Annie and Constantin, emigrated from Communist Romania, hoping to start a new life in the United States. Instead, they ended up settling in Toronto, where Constantin worked as an electrician and sold confectionery. Daniel was born five years after his brother, and even at an early age was extremely ambitious. "From the age of four, I thought I’d be rich. I told my mom I’d build a house out of Popsicle sticks, and move to Cafornia (sic),” Daniel recalls in a 2009 interview.

Daniel Negreanu attended Pineway public middle school in North York, where the principal complained to his mother about Daniel's "poor manners or behavior" and threatened to expel him for "ignoring the school rules." While nursing dreams of a career as a professional snooker player, the now 15-year-old Daniel learned how to play poker. By 16, he was spending time in pool halls, hustling, sports betting, and playing cards. When he was several credits short of graduation Daniel dropped out of high school and began his life as a rounder playing at the local charity casinos, usually at Casino Country and Fundtime Games, and looking for illegal games around the city. While in Toronto, Daniel met and began dating Evelyn Ng, who would also become a well-known professional poker player. After building up his bankroll, he left for Las Vegas at the age of 22 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional poker player. However, "The Strip" got the better of him and he was forced to move back home to Toronto to rebuild his bankroll.

Barry Greenstein (born December 30, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the Robin Hood of poker". He was elected into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2011.

After graduating from Bogan High School, he earned a bachelor degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He studied for a PhD in mathematics, but never defended his completed dissertation.

According to his book, Ace on the River, Greenstein was doing well playing poker, but figured a more conventional job would improve his chances of adopting his stepchildren, so he went to work for the new startup company Symantec, where he worked on their first product Q&A. He left the company in 1991 at age 36.

Greenstein has two children and four stepchildren, and he resides in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. His stepson, Joe Sebok, with whom he started PokerRoad, a poker strategy and entertainment website, is also a professional poker player.

Jack Benny Binion (born February 21, 1937 in Dallas , Texas) is an American casino operator. Jack is the son of casino magnate Benny Binion and worked for his father at Binion's Horseshoe, a casino and hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jack became president of the Horseshoe in 1963 at the age of 26.

Jack's fame grew following his 1970 hosting of the first World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe which became the largest set of poker tournaments in the world. Privately held, Binion's Horseshoe became renowned as one of Nevada's most successful casino operations.

In 1998, following a protracted legal battle for control of the Horseshoe among Benny Binion's heirs, Jack sold his interest in Binion's Horseshoe to his sister, Becky Behnen, while retaining a token 1% interest in the operation so that he could lawfully retain his Nevada Gaming License. He also acquired the rights to the Horseshoe brand outside of Nevada.

Jack went on to form Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation which developed and operated several riverboat casinos under the Horseshoe name. Jack continued to promote the casinos for Harrah's Entertainment following his sale of the company in 2004 to Harrah's. As of 2008, Binion's name appears on the "Jack Binion's Steakhouse" at Horseshoe Tunica and Horseshoe Hammond and several of the Horseshoe-branded casinos still carry slot machines bearing Binion's likeness called "Who Wants To Be A Binionaire?" that originated before the Harrah's acquisition.