Eric Drache, credited with inventing satellite tournaments, and the late Brian “Sailor” Roberts have been named to the Poker Hall of Fame.
Roberts, one of the original Texas Rounders, essentially secured the induction after Doyle Brunson encouraged other members of the hall to vote for his longtime friend.
Among Drache’s many contributions to poker was the idea to create a hall of fame.
Drache and Roberts were among 10 nominated for the 2012 class, then voted in by a 36-person panel of living members and poker media.
They will be inducted during a ceremony October 30 at 3:30 p.m. in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas at the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event.
Roberts, the 1975 WSOP Main Event, is considered one of the “good guys” of the game and “a pillar of poker’s old guard,” according to Seth Palansky, vice president of WSOP communications. Roberts also won the 1974 No-Limit Deuce to Seven event and finished eighth in the 1982 WSOP Main Event. 
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After serving in the Korean War, Roberts met Brunson and Amarillo Slim, and the trio traveled across the country in search of poker games.
“They deployed advanced strategies unknown at the time that featured playing their opponents hands on many occasions rather than their own hands. More often than not, they got the money,” said hall of famer Crandell Addington. “In a time fifty years ago when poker players relied on luck, Sailor was developing sophisticated strategies that would enable him to make his own luck.”
Drache made five WSOP final tables over the course of his career, finishing in the top three every time. He also served as the event’s tournament director from 1973 to 1988, when he came up with the concept for satellite events that awarded seats into larger tournaments, which helped boost tournament player pools. 
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He worked as the card room manager of casinos like Silverbird, Mirage, and the Golden Nugget and consulted on several televised poker productions.
“I’m not only surprised and honored to have been selected, I’m also a bit embarrassed considering the other nominees,” Drache said. “When Jack Binion and myself worked on creating the Hall of Fame, I never considered myself a potential candidate.”
This year’s eight nominations not inducted are: Chris Bjorin, David Chiu, Thor Hansen, George Hardie, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, John Juanda, Tom McEvoy and Scotty Nguyen.
With Drache and Roberts, the Poker Hall of Fame established in 1979 now consists of 44 members, including 19 that are still alive.
