Actor James Woods Makes Strong Case for "Miami" John Cernuto in the Poker HOF
In an interview with PokerNews, actor James Woods made a passioned plea for the Poker Hall of Fame to induct his longtime friend, "Miami" John Cernuto.
It's that time of year again for the poker community to begin discussions about who should be the next to reach poker's most elite club. The WSOP Poker Hall of Fame will begin taking fan nominations for the one-person Class of 2024 next month, and then the living members of the HOF will vote on a winner based on the top fan vote getters.
No date has been announced just yet, but the induction ceremony typically takes place during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. If Woods were to get his way, his choice would be Cernuto, who has over $6.3 million in live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob.
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Woods' Argument for Poker Great
Woods spoke with PokerNews on Thursday at the 2024 WSOP on a break while Cernuto was busy stacking chips in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better on Day 2. "Miami John" locked up his 666th The Hendon Mob cash, extending his record — a record Woods believes should be recognized more by his peers.
"Why does Cal Ripken Jr. belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame?" Woods asked, a simple argument for his friend reaching the Poker Hall of Fame.
Ripken played 2,632 consecutive baseball games for the Baltimore Orioles, a streak ended in 1998that will likely never be broken. The 1991 American League MVP was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, partly due to the consecutive games streak. But, like Cernuto, he accomplished more than just a record (won an MVP, hit 431 homers, won two Gold Gloves at a premium defensive position, etc.).
Cernuto, as Woods pointed out, is in a similar boat as Ripken in that he holds an impressive record, but also has other accolades such as three WSOP bracelets, two World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rings, $6.3 million in live tournament cashes, and has played professionally for decades.
Woods considers Cernuto a poker mentor and was one of his first friends within the poker community many years ago. He credits the Poker Hall of Fame candidate for helping to improve his own game.
"When I went to M.I.T., the first thing they said when you go through orientation, the one of the professors here said, 'you may not learn a lot of facts here, but you're going to learn how to think.' What (Cernuto) taught me to do is how to think about poker. John thinks about poker better than anyone I've ever met in my life. Maybe Ari Engel also, and I know Ari very well, he's a good friend," Woods said.
Woods Has Strong Words for Poker Hall of Fame
Woods then made his case for Cernuto based on some statistics and accomplishments.
"John has more tournament cashes than anybody in the history of tournament poker. He has more tournament wins than anybody in the history of tournament poker." - James Woods.
"Oh, by the way, John also has three bracelets, and also has played in some of the biggest cash games," Woods continued. "What (Ripken Jr.) was famous for, he played more consecutive baseball games than anybody in history, had a great batting average, was great for the game.
"There's no part of John Cernuto that isn't great for poker. If John Cernuto isn't in the Poker Hall of Fame, then the Poker Hall of Fame, it's about fad and fashion. It's not about what poker is fundamentally about."
Since 2020 when 1996 world champion Huck Seed was chosen, the Poker Hall of Fame has only inducted one player or industry professional each year. That has created some debate as to how many should be inducted annually, and also caused some backlog with quite a few deserving candidates being left out.
Non-players such as Matt Savage and Isai Scheinberg, and pros like Mike Matusow and Patrik Antonius have been stuck on the sidelines. And the backlog is only going to get longer with poker superstars such as Tom Dwan, Shaun Deeb, Scott Seiver, and Phil Galfond all turning 40, the minimum Poker HOF age, over the next few years.
Cernuto, like the other poker legends mentioned above is always among those in consideration each year for the Poker Hall of Fame. If recency bias has any impact on this year's HOF selection, Cernuto will have an opportunity on Friday to appease the voters. He bagged 1,135,000 chips on Day 2 in the Omaha/8 event, good for eight out of 22 remaining players, and he could be a day away from his fourth bracelet. Doing so certainly won't hurt his HOF case.
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