Six-Time Bracelet Winner Brian Rast Voted Into Poker Hall of Fame

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Jul 13, 2023 2 min read Last updated Jul 14, 2023

There wasn't much suspense this year. Brian Rast, the heavy favorite to be inducted, is the 2023 Poker Hall of Fame selection, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has revealed.

Following his win in the prestigious Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, his third victory in that tournament, arguably the second most important WSOP event each year, most anticipated Rast would be this year's selection.

There were nine other players nominated via a fan vote in June (full list here), all of whom present a strong case as to being Hall of Fame worthy. But the PPC win seemed to lock it up for Rast, who was voted in by the other 31 living members of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Stacked Poker Hall of Fame Resume

Rast has been crushing it as a poker pro for well beyond a decade at the highest level. He's won in tournaments and in some of the biggest cash games in the world. Prior to the start of Event #86: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold'em, he was honored by WSOP Vice President Jack Effel for winning the PPC, and then informed he was by Effel he is the newest member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

"Thank you to the current Hall of Fame members for having the power in this situation to select me," a thankful Rast told the crowd inside Paris Las Vegas following a serenity prayer he shared with the audience.

On top of his three Poker Players Championship titles, he has three additional WSOP bracelets. Outside of the WSOP, he was the champion of the first Super High Roller Bowl in 2015, a $500,000 buy-in contest at the time, for $7,525,000, his biggest score ever. The California native defeated Scott Seiver in an epic heads-up match to win in what was Poker Central's (now PokerGO) debut tournament.

In total, Rast has over $25 million in live tournament cashes, according to Hendon Mob. But he's spent much of his career crushing it in Bobby's Room (now Legends Room) at Bellagio in Las Vegas where legends, such as Rast, are made. The mixed game specialist who can also dominate in no-limit hold'em earned the respect of his peers within the high stakes community years ago, one of the prerequisites for induction into the Poker Hall of Fame.

During his speech, Rast thanked his parents, who were in attendance, for all they've done for him. He then thanks his friends in the poker community, including Andrew Robl and Antonio Esfandiari, for their support.

Rast became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2022 when he turned age 40. The year before at the 2021 WSOP, he told PokerNews he deserved to be in the following year. Layne Flack, who passed away in 2021, was inducted last summer, however. Similar to Rast, Flack was a six-time bracelet winner and among the top players in the world for many years.

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Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

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