Results of the public vote for the nominees for the Poker Hall of Fame have been released by Harrah's Entertainment and the WSOP. This marks the first time that general public had their say in the nominating process, and these are the ten notables who got the most votes in the Internet vote (in alphabetical order):

• Tom Dwan
• Barry Greenstein
• Dan Harrington
• Phil Ivey
• Tom McEvoy
• Men "The Master" Nguyen
• Scotty Nguyen
• Daniel Negreanu
• Erik Seidel
• Mike Sexton

While it's not surprising that Tom "durrrr" Dwan was in the top 10 in the nominee vote, it would be a major surprise if he was already elected at such a young age. Anyone getting elected to the Hall of Fame should meet the following criteria:

• A player must have played poker against acknowledged top competition;
• Played for high stakes;
• Played well, gaining the respect of players;
• Stood the test of time;
• Or, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.

While Dwan certainly has played for high stakes against top competition and gained their respect, he has yet to prove that he can stand the test of time - simply because he is too young for that.

From here the process moves to the Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council, who will select the final list of candidates. Then a 30-person panel including all living Hall of Fame members plus media representatives vote on each of the candidates, selecting as many as they like - or none - as new members.

The final ceremony for the elected candidates will then be held as part of the Main Event Final Table festivities in November. (In the picture: Dewey Tomko receiving his award from Jeffrey Pollack last year.)