The Top 50 in the Tournament of Champions Popularity Contest

If you have voted for the WSOP Tournament of Champions participants, then you know that they are listing the top 50 vote getters. I decided to go through the list and make my comments on them. If they have my vote, I will just note as such. Obviously, give me your thoughts on this.

J.C. Tran- Two bracelets and a long track record at the WSOP. I didn't vote for him, but I won't be horribly upset due to his resume.

Men Nguyen - Has my vote.

Kenny Tran - Great player and the current WSOP Heads-up World Champion. Does that qualify him for this event? Not in my eyes.

Allen Cunningham - Has My Vote

Annette Obrestad - Has My Vote

Eli Elezra - Can't fault people for voting for Eli

David Benyamine - Yes he has a bracelet and some final tables, but not much else. Not deserving yet.

Daniel Alaei - Great player with two bracelets, but this is one where popularity and a WPT title is the only reason he is getting votes.

Alexandre Gomes - I actually witnessed Gomes win his first bracelet. What else has he done before or since. 1 cash for 5k. That's it. Not deserving.

Vitaly Lunkin - A great 2009, but is that enough to get voted into this game?

Dan Harrington - Has my vote

Dario Minieri - Ummm...no. One bracelet and one deep Main Event run. Not worthy.

Barry Greenstein - Ok, I can't fault people for voting Barry. If we were voting for all 27 and not just 20, I would have voted him in.

John Juanda - Not a bad choice either. I personally wouldn't have voted him into this first one, but he still is deserving.

Phil Hellmuth - Has my vote.

Phil Ivey - Of course, has my vote.

Jamie Gold - Has my vote based on winning largest Main Event in history.

Doyle Brunson - Only way he doesn't play in this is if he dies. (Although according to his banner, he is already dead.)

Ted Forrest - I like Ted, I really do. I like the fact that people are voting for him.

Peter Eastgate - Of course he is going to get some votes. Not mine though. Yes, he "was" the youngest Main Event winner. For a year.

Howard Lederer - I like Howard and like his play, but really hasn't done enough to put him over the top in the voting. If he gets in, I will not be as upset as some other choices.

Daniel Schreiber - Who? Seriously. Who? I went back and looked him up and still go, who? He has a bracelet yes, and not much else. Who is stuffing the ballot box for him?

David Williams - Second to Raymer and a Stud bracelet doesn't qualify him. If this was the foot fetish all-stars, maybe.

Greg Raymer - Has my vote

Billy Baxter - I am VERY happy to see people step up and vote for Billy. Has my vote.

Chris Moneymaker - Has my vote. I expect he will be in.

Humberto Brenes - You know, I almost feel like a heel for not voting for Humberto. Who doesn't like Humberto on TV? I don't think he deserves the nod, but if he gets on, he will be entertaining.

Scotty Nguyen - Has my vote baby.

Jennifer Harman - This is another choice I cannot fault people on. I was going to vote for her, but ran out of votes. Would be in my votes had we voted for 27.

Freddy Deeb - I respect Freddy's game immensely. Maybe in my top 27. Not in my top 20. However, I wouldn't be against him in the event.

Johnny Chan - Has my vote.

Layne Flack - Has my vote.

Amarillo Slim Preston - Slim wasn't in my top 20, but it would be great for his reputation to make this table.

Sam Farha - Sammy, you're great for poker, but there are others more deserving.

Erick Lindgren - The women would appreciate seeing him at the final table, but hasn't done enough at the WSOP to warrant my vote.

Prahlad Friedman - Putting aside my dislike for Friedman, he hasn't done enough to warrant my vote or play in this game.

David Sklansky - I've played with David and yes, he is a good player, but not exactly "TV material." Others have done more to warrant a spot in my opinion. Now, if this was overall poker, I say put him in.

Erik Seidel - Has my vote and is my favorite to win if Ivey busts.

Chris Ferguson - Has my vote

Tom Mcevoy - While he is the first player to win the Main Event off of a satellite and has another bracelet besides, that isn't enough in my opinion. Yes, he won the Champions Invitational. That was a tournament he deserved to be in.

Daniel Negreanu - If we had 27 votes, I probably vote Daniel in. There is probably a good chance he gets in anyway due to his popularity. There are others much more deserving based on what they have done at the table.

Jason Mercier - Has really been on fire recently, but that isn't enough.

T.J. Cloutier - Has my vote.

Philip Galfond - OMG...no. Great Omaha player, but if you only have one bracelet, you better have done something pretty spectacular in order to get my vote here.

Jeffrey Lisandro - Has my vote

Huck Seed - I am not against Huck being voted in. Great player with four bracelets, including a Main Event. I didn't vote for him, but there were only 20 votes.

Antonio Esfandiari - Good player, but is he really deserving or are people just going for popularity here.

Hoyt Corkins - This good ol' boy is one of the nicest players you will play with and always has a nice (and very polite) cheering section. However, doesn't belong in this event.

Joe Hachem - Pass the sugar! I think Joe has a fair chance to make it in, although I didn't vote for him.

Carlos Mortensen - I wonder if this is due to his record or his recent win. Hard to really talk against putting a player of his caliber in this type of event, but I would rather not see him in this event.