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2011 Poker Hall of Fame Inductees

October 31, 2011

The 2011 Poker Hall of Fame inductees have been announced—Linda Johnson and Barry Greenstein. They are no longer just nominees, they are the 41st and 42nd individuals to be given this exceptional honor and inducted to this prestigious club.

Fifty-six-year-old Greenstein, aka the “Robin Hood of Poker,” has won more than $7.5 playing in poker tournaments around the world and has won six figures or more every year for the past nine years playing tournaments. He has three WSOP bracelets and two WPT wins. He is also an avid and successful super-high stakes cash game poker player. He’s been playing professionally for 20 years since he left his job to play poker full-time. He entered his first tourney in the WSOP Main Event 1992 and took 22nd place, which was a sign of great things to come.

Greenstein is also the author of Ace on the River and has six children. He has donated more than $3 million to charity, hence the nickname. Originally from Chicago, he now lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. He frequents card rooms in California and Las Vegas as well as travels the world to play in tournaments.

The second inductee is 58-year-old Johnson, who is the second female to win the honor along with Barbara Enright, who has been the only female in the club since she was inducted in 2007. Currently, Johnson lives in Vegas, but is originally from Long Island, New York. She won her first WSOP bracelet in 1997 playing 7-Card Razz, one of only 15 female bracelet winners. She has seven final table appearances at WSOP events as well. She was named the “First Lady of Poker” by Mike Sexton (also in the Poker Hall of Fame) for her lead role in making poker what it is today. She taught herself to play in the 70s and quit her job at the US Post Office in 1980 to play full-time. She played professionally through 1993.

Johnson now teaches WPT Boot Camp and hosts seminars on poker and tournaments around the US. She has also hosted nearly 90 poker cruises with Card Player Cruises. In fact, she purchased Card Player Magazine in 1993 and grew it into a major publication over the following eight years. She became poker’s ambassador and traveled all over the world sharing her knowledge of and love for the game of poker.

Johnson is also an author and has written three books on poker. She also helped establish the World Poker Tour and sits on the PPA’s Board of Directors and was inducted into the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame in 2008. She is also co-founder of PokerGives.org.

Johnson says, “I am extremely proud and humbled to be voted into the Poker Hall of Fame. I feel lucky to have been involved in many facets of poker over the past 35 years. Being recognized by the industry is a tremendous honor.”

Greenstein commented, “I’m happy to be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside my friend Linda Johnson who has been the most fervent ambassador for poker for as long as I can remember.

Both Johnson and Greenstein will be formally inducted on November 8th towards the end of the WSOP Main Event Final Table at 4:30 p.m. at the Penn & Teller Theater, immediately preceding the three-hand finale.

Written by Johnny · Filed Under Poker News 

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