Julius Caesar

Always an attention grabber, Phil Helmuth walked into the WSOP 2009 wearing a Julius Caesar costume, complete with soldiers, dancing ladies, and horse-drawn chariot. Those who do not know Helmuth raised their eyebrows in disgust at his show, and those who do know him knew that he was going to pull such a stunt like this when he walks into the WSOP venue, especially since he is known to always set up elaborate stunts when he makes a WSOP entrance. Of course, many poker pros also raised their eyebrows at Helmuth’s antics.

Nude Poker Pros

Again, the attention-grabber Phil Helmuth was once again a participant of this event wherein Helmuth together with four other poker pros posed nude for the “The Body Issue” of ESPN’s Magazine. The other three players included Jennifer Harman and Daniealk Negreanu as well as Scotty Nguyen. The photograph showed the four players playing at a poker table, dressed in their birthday suits. Of course, the poker table hid their private parts appropriately.

The Poker Playing Priest

The poker playing priest was another incident that sparked the interest of many, and it even became a bit controversial. Father Trapp joined in a major poker tournament and won himself a fat hundred thousand dollars, which he has promised to put into the renovation of his church. He might not have won the million dollar first prize, but his accomplishment did show that there is a quirky side to priests, not just serious preaching.

New Member in Full Tilt Poker

It is not a common occurrence that Full Tilt Poker invites poker pros to become a member of their team, but last year saw the addition of  into the Full Tilt Poker elite team. Dwan, already recognized in the online poker world, has also gathered the attention of the poker world when he issued the million dollar challenge.

This is just some of the major events that took place last 2009 in the poker world.

So, what are the reasons why Sexton was chosen to be included in the Poker Hall of Fame, and let us take a look at how he came to be in included in this very prominent body?

The Poker Player

Sexton has proven to himself and has shown to the poker world that he can be a very formidable opponent when it comes to the felt table. For one, he has earned a WSOP bracelet in 1989 when he participated at the seven card stud event. Sexton also earned a whopping 3.18 million dollars in poker winnings when he participated at the 2009 WSOP Main Event. All in all, Sexton has gathered 47 WSOP cashes, coming in at the 11th place when it comes to the all-time list.

Sexton is not only a formidable poker player and a fair opponent but he has also created a big name for himself in the poker world because of the contributions that he has given to the game of poker. He worked as an anchor for the famous World Poker Tour, and, at the same time, he also writes articles for the Card Player.

With all the income and the poker winnings that he has gathered throughout his poker career, he has the time to share his blessings. He donates to many charities as well as a variety of organizations. In fact, he extended a huge helping hand to a start-up organization called the pokergives.org, which is an organization that lends a hand to poker players who want to donate to commendable charities.

Sexton’s contributions to the game do not stop there as he has also become a supporter with an impressive say when it comes to poker laws and its legal rights. In fact, he became an expert witness for the five poker players from South Carolina who were convicted with illegal gambling for having played at an illegal $20 Texas Holdem tournament.

There are more that Mike Sexton has done for the game of poker, and all his efforts have been recognized by many. He is indeed worthy to be included in the Poker Hall of Fame.