The Video Poker Hall of Fame

The vpFREE Video Poker Hall of Fame The vpFREE "Video Poker Hall of Fame" is an online tribute to the leading minds in the video poker world. Each year since 2002, vpFREE chooses to honor one or two people who have contributed to the world's understanding of video poker with a membership in the Video Poker Hall of Fame. These men and women have written books or otherwise provided helpful tools for the analysis of video poker odds for the video poker community at large.

Here's a list of the members of the vpFREE Video Poker Hall of Fame.

Si Redd - 2002 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Si Redd is the founder of video poker. Si Redd helped found International Game Technology, the world's biggest slot machine and video poker machine company. IGT has become one of the giants of the gambling machine industry, and Si Redd was a towering figure in gambling until his death in 2003.

Si Redd was the original owner of the Oasis Resort Hotel and Casino in Mesquite, Nevada. In 1975, Si Redd and IGT designed and began to market the world's first video poker machine. It is hard to imagine the game of video poker existing without the contribution of Si Redd.

Dean Zamzow - 2002 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Dean Zamzow helped to spread the good news about video poker payouts. In 1997, Zamzow developed WINPOKER video poker software, designed to analyze the pay rates on video poker machines.

For the past ten years, players have had this valuable resource in deciding which video poker machines offer the best odds. All serious or professional video poker players have use the software designed by Dean Zamzow.

Stanford Wong - 2002 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Stanford Wong created video poker software in 1991 to help analyze the payout percentages and probabilities for video poker. Wong's first contribution was his Video Poker Analyzer software. This was followed by the VPExact software. Though both of these were eventually surpassed by the work of Dean Zamzow, Stanford Wong was a pioneer in the video poker software field.

Stanford Wong also wrote the 1993 book, Professional Video Poker, which was one of the early books which clued gamblers into the potential of video poker.

Stanford Wong would make it into several gambling Halls of Fame, as he has written major books on sports betting, blackjack and dice control.

Gary M. Catlin - 2002 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Gary M. Catlin was another one of the first designers of video poker software. His greatest contribution was Video Poker Tutor by the Panamint Software firm. Gary Catlin was perhaps the ranking video poker software expert in the early-to-mid 1990's.

Lenny Frome - 2002 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Lenny Frome was another founding father of video poker. In fact, vpFREE refers to Lenny Frome as the "George Washington" of video poker.

Lenny Frome wrote the first influential book on video poker. He spent the remainder of his life writing about his favorite casino game. Due to his sober and analytical style of writing, Lenny Frome conferred a lot of credibility to the argument that video poker was theoretically profitable for players. Due in no small part to Lenny Frome, video poker is considered a thinking man's game.

Dan Paymar - 2003 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Dan Paymar has made his own solid contributions to the study of video poker. Dan Paymar has written extensively on video poker, including books like 1998's Video Poker: Optimum Play. Paymar has also written articles and a longtime video poker newsletter, The Video Poker Times.

One of the great help tools for video poker players were Dan Paymar's video poker strategy cards. Players still carry these cards into casino, using them as video poker strategy primers during game play.

Bob Dancer - 2004 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Bob Dancer has done more to popularize video poker than any other living player. Ask a hobby gambler about video poker and they will probably invoke the name of Bob Dancer.

Million Dollar Video Poker is a book and an autobiography about seven years in the life of Bob Dancer. This book shows how Bob turned $6,000 into $1 million a 7-year career as a professional video poker player.

Over a six month period, Bob Dancer won over $1 million playing video poker. This brought major new attention to video poker, and Million Dollar Video Poker remains an important gateway for new players learning about one of the best kept secrets of casino gambling: video poker.

Bob Dancer to this day remains one of the most visible video poker advocates, writing books and articles on the subject.

Jean Scott - 2005 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Jean Scott, the Gambling Grandma, the Queen of Comps and the Frugal Gambler, is a best-selling author on money management and bargain shopping for the best casino games. This naturally led Jean Scott to the game of video poker.

Jean Scott wrote two successful books on gambling in general, The Frugal Gambler and More Frugal Gambling. She is another visible advocate of gambling, making appearances as a gambling expert on 48 Hours, Dateline and Hard Copy.

Skip Hughes - 2006 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Skip Hughes operates the VPMail Video Poker Mailing List. This online newsletter was instrumental in founding the online video poker community. Skip Hughes helped in the spread of information about video poker, bringing the ideas of the best video poker writers and thinkers to the masses.

Skip Hughes remains an avid video poker player, as well as a consultant and writer on video poker. Mr. Hughes writes for the recreational video poker player, making the best video poker concepts accessible to a wide audience.

Michael Shackleford - 2007 Video Poker Hall of Fame Inductee

Michael Shackleford is the Wizard of Odds. If you have studied gambling on the internet, you have no doubt come across Mr. Shackleford's wizardofodds.com.

Over the year, Michael Shackleford seems to have analyzed virtually every casino game known to man. Inevitably, the Wizard of Odds made a comprehensive study of video poker.

Michael Shackleford uses computer programs to run his simulations and make his video poker pay tables. This is one of the finest free resources of video poker information online. The Wizard of Odds is recognized as an expert on the mathematics of gambling, once having a position at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas as an adjunct professor of mathematics.

On of the the funny things about Michael Shackleford's site is you'll find qualifiers stating that he has worked as a consultant for virtually every casino or casino software firm known to man. To his credit, the Wizard of Odds lets players know he has worked with the company's whose handiwork he is analysing.

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This page was originally written on April 6, 2006, and was last updated on September 18, 2007.

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