“Really, the number one thing at this point is kind of just making the Poker Hall of Fame. I mean, I feel like, I think I’ve done enough in my career…” – Brian Rast, 2021.
On Thursday afternoon at the World Series of Poker, high-stakes poker pro and second-year nominee Brian Rast was officially inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the sole member of the Class of 2023. Rast’s inclusion in the Hall is a watershed moment for the 44-year-old Poker Hall of Fame, with the Las Vegas resident opening the door for a new generation of post-boom players to dominate the nomination list.
“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 at the ceremony.
Then, in front of a small crowd inside the Paris Ballroom, the 41-year-old Rast took the mic and thanked the 31 other living members of the Poker Hall of Fame for selecting him, among a number of qualified nominees this year.
And, without question, Rast is incredibly qualified. The top of his poker resume reads six-time WSOP gold bracelet winner, three-time Poker Players Championship victor. He has six seven-figure scores including a victory in the 2013 WPT Five Diamond $100,000 Super High Roller for $1,083,500 and, a win in the $500,000 2015 Super High Roller Bowl for a career-high $7,525,000.
A product of the high roller era, Rast sits 29th on the Hendon Mob’s All-Time Money List, with more than $25 million in career earnings over 121 results. The only members of the Poker Hall of Fame with more earnings are Daniel Negreanu (3rd), Erik Seidel (8th), Phil Ivey (11th), and Phil Hellmuth (19th) – all certified poker legends. Add to that, Rast has a longtime reputation for not only crushing the nosebleed cash games but being a master of all the games making him more than a No Limit Hold’em specialist, something the voters in the Hall have placed a premium on in the past (see: John Hennigan, David Oppenheim)
While not surprising, for all the above reasons, Rast’s inclusion is unique and may also mark a new era for the Hall of Fame. He’s really the first post-Moneymaker generation player to be admitted. Rast’s first recorded live cash was in 2005 and it wasn’t until 2011 that Rast won his first (two) bracelets. Prior to this year, every player in the Hall had a history in poker prior to 2003, save for Moneymaker himself who was admitted not based on his caliber of play, but for his ambassadorial role in growing the game after his fortuitous Main Event win.
And Rast is just the first of a long line of incredibly worthy players who, in the next few years, will find themselves age-eligible, results-qualified, and popular enough to garner public support to make it onto the list of top-10 nominees. Not unlike Jeremy Ausmus who added incredible results to his resume in the past two years which garnered him his first nomination this year.
Sure, there are still a number of “old school” players in the mix who might get the call in the next year or two. There are some candidates that have been passed over in recent years that a proper Poker Hall of Fame would be remiss in denying including the likes of Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest, and Isai Scheinberg. But as soon as names like Tom Dwan, Shaun Deeb, Jason Mercier, Justin Bonomo, Isaac Haxton, and David Peters are of age, they will likely be occupying spots, that will make it difficult for some very worthy players (and builders) for years to come.
This is the fourth year in a row that a single figure has been enshrined in the Hall. The call from the poker public to go back to at least two entries per year will have to wait.
But Rast will not. As he mentioned back in 2021, Rast has done enough and is now officially in the Hall of Fame and his photo will be added to the Poker Hall of Fame exhibit at the Horseshoe.