by Mario Alfonsi | Published on May 20, 2012 | Updated on May 20, 2012While poker is largely dominated by male competitors, women have always been an important part of the game’s world. Unlike in many sports, men and women can compete on equal footing across the felt, which has led to plenty of star female players alongside their male counterparts. Add in the many other ways in which women can – and have – contributed to the game of poker, and it’s easy to see why there’s plenty of stiff competition for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame.Nominations opened this week for the 2012 class of the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, which will be inducted on August 31 at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas. In order to even become eligible for nomination, candidates must have either been active as a poker player or as someone influential behind the scenes in poker for a minimum of ten years, and they must be over the age of 35 as well.The first stage in the nomination process is public, meaning anyone can put forward a nominee they feel is deserving of being honored.When the public nomination period ends, all of the suggestions will be looked at by the Hall of Fame’s Screening Committee. They will sort through the nominations to come up with a final list of nominees. This list is then voted on by the current members of the Hall of Fame, the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame, and select media members. Each voter has ten votes they can distribute however they like (including giving multiple votes to the same player), with the top two to four vote-getters entering into the Hall of Fame.The first ever Women in Poker Hall of Fame class came in 2008, when Barbara Enright, Linda Johnson, Marsha Waggoner, and Susie Isaacs. Since then, other inductees have included Cyndy Violette, Jennifer Harman, Kathy Liebert, Billie Brown, Kristy Gazes and Phyllis Caro.
