Poker legend TJ Cloutier shares tales from the poker trail.
For the last few months I've been campaigning to get Tom McEvoy inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame now that Harrah's has opened it up to nominations from the public.
This morning around 1:00 at the Rio, Tom took one fantastic step toward the recognition he so rightly deserves. He won the first annual Champions Invitational tournament at the World Series of Poker.
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| Champions Invitational Champ Tom McEvoy | |
I sweated Tom through most of the tournament and I can tell you for a fact that he showed the gallery what a class player he really is. I think the key hand was when he broke Doyle Brunson when Doyle was holding A-K and Tom had J-J, and his jacks held up. Then when it got down to three-handed between him, Dan Harrington and Robert Varkonyi, Tom played brilliantly, just like a Hall of Famer and a real pro should play.Jack Binion himself presented McEvoy with the first-ever Binion Cup, and Jeffrey Pollock gave him the keys to a 1970 fully refurbished Corvette Stingray convertible. What Tom said about Jack was kinda humorous: "This is the first time he's handed me a trophy instead of money (for winning a tournament)." This victory is just one more notch in Tom's belt. He's been working hard at poker since 1983 when he won the championship, and has helped a lot of people along the way with his books and lessons and his generosity. If defeating 19 other world champions of poker in head-to-head battle, winning four WSOP gold bracelets, writing 12 books on poker, teaching WPT seminars, playing tons of charity events, and getting nonsmoking cardrooms and tournaments into Vegas doesn't qualify you for the Hall of Fame, what does? I can't think of anybody more deserving. McEvoy has given so much back to poker, it's time he gets recognition for his contributions.
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