Jason Koon’s Stack Pulled from WSOP $250K Super High Roller as Wife Enters Labor

Even though Jason Koon bagged Day 1 of Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), he will not be joining the other High Rollers for Day 2. The high-stakes star had his stack pulled from the largest buy-in event of the summer after he received word that his wife was in labor with their second child just in time for Father’s Day.

Koon, who bagged a stack of 1,740,000 — a little more than the starting stack of 1,500,000 — will be fully refunded for his $250,000 entry, according to WSOP officials.

“Prior to the end of registration in event 40 with more than a starting stack, entrant Jason Koon requested a void and refund so as to accompany his wife to the hospital who had gone into labor,” WSOP told PokerNews. “Request was granted. Issuing a refund before the end of registration is clearly within the discretion of tournament officials and common practice at WSOP. We wish Jason Koon and all our WSOP dads a happy Father’s Day.”

Koon was among the 37 players who advanced to Day 2, including Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Alex Foxen, Chance Kornuth, Artur Martirosian and Main Event champs Koray Aldemir and Espen Jorstad.

The now 36 players who advanced will be joined by anyone who hopped in before the close of late registration at the start of Day 2.

Koon, who won his first WSOP bracelet in 2021 just weeks after the birth of his first child, was a guest on The Chad & Jesse Poker Show this week and spoke about missing the second half of the series for the birth of his child.

“This year is special for me because I don’t get to play the Main Event, so it’s bittersweet,” Koon said. “My wife and I are expecting our second son in a week. So I’m shutting everything down, I’m going to be hanging out at the house and rooting for my friends to win bracelets this summer.”

There is a precedent for players having the opportunity to be refunded in this event. In the 2021 $250,000 Super High Roller, players agreed that anyone in the tournament who tested positive for COVID-19 would be refunded the six-figure buy-in.

While he won’t be winning a second bracelet in the $250,000 Super High Roller, Koon will be able to enjoy Father’s Day with his newly born second son.