The Australian Poker Hall of Fame honors the top players and poker industry personnel. Each year, the APHOF announces new members during Aussie Millions. This year, the hall has inducted one of the hottest high stakes players in the world along with perhaps one of the most famous members of the poker media.
At the start of Day 2 of the Aussie Millions Main Event, the APHOF announced the induction of Kahle Burns and Lynn Gilmartin. Burns has been on fire recently and has been tearing up the poker world for the last three years. Gilmartin started her poker media career working for PokerNews but is best known for her work on the World Poker Tour.
Kahle Burns Inducted into Australian Poker Hall of Fame
On Monday, the 2020 class for the Australian Poker Hall of Fame was announced. The only player inducted this year is Aussie High Roller Kahle Burns. Burns has won over $8.3 million in live poker tournaments and won his first two WSOP bracelets at the 2019 WSOP Europe.
Burns has been a staple of the high stakes poker world for years but has really come into his own the last three years. His breakout year was in 2017 after winning $1.82 million in live events. The bulk of that came from a third-place finish in the Triton Poker Macau Main Event.
Thanks for the induction and congrats to my humanitarian compatriot @LynnGilmartin aswell! https://t.co/bQ9NeS5PuM
— Kahle Burns (@ROFLshove) January 20, 2020
Burns enjoyed his best year as a high stakes tournament pro in 2019. He won $4.36 million in live events, including two bracelets at WSOP Europe. He had 12 six-figure scores last year, including a win in Event #9 of the 2019 Poker Masters.
Burns spoke at the induction, stating that he started playing poker at the Crown and at online casinos in Australia as a way to help pay his way through University. He eventually dropped out of school to play poker professionally and has been doing so for the last 12 years. Burns started out primarily as a cash game player but now is one of the top high rollers in the world.
Lynn Gilmartin Inducted For Work in Poker Media
Most everyone knows Lynn Gilmartin’s work on the World Poker Tour, but she has been part of the poker world for over a decade. She started work at the Crown Casino in Melbourne and then moved on to PokerNews to become an on-camera reporter and interviewer.
Eventually, Gilmartin’s charm and work ethic landed her in a roll with the World Poker Tour. Joe Hachem announced Gilmartin’s induction on Tuesday and stated that “She never walks around without a smile on her face. She loves poker, she loves people and she’s just an amazing human being and a credit to us all in poker.”
Help us congratulate our very own @LynnGilmartin for being inducted into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. Read the official PR @ https://t.co/BuXyctXzMg. Watch a short video from the event @ https://t.co/NnrGUvFBnv. And don't forget to follow her on IG @ https://t.co/8xBoGNiJM3 pic.twitter.com/vq6UJld17f
— ClubWPT (@ClubWPT) January 21, 2020
Gilmartin’s path to the APHOF is a unique one. She started out working in the marketing department at the Crown Casino. During her time there, she became a host for both the PokerNews Cup and the Victorian Poker Championship.
Starting in 2009, Gilmartin started working for PokerNews with much of her work focusing on the World Series of Poker. Fast forward to 2013 and she became the host of the WPT Alpha8 High Roller Series. Later that year, she became a part of the World Poker Tour team and has been a staple of WPT broadcasts since.
As always, Gilmartin accepted the award with humility, stating, “My commitment has been to shine a spotlight on this industry, this game and the players within it,” she said. “It’s been a privilege. I have so much admiration for this game and for all of you who either play this for a living or just for fun. To receive this award means the world to me, and I’m just so very grateful.”