Jason Koon was announced as the sole inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame ahead of the WSOP Main Event final table on Monday.
The 12-time Triton champion was the overwhelming favorite among the eight finalists, but few expected him to be the only member of the Class of 2026. Changes had been made to the voting process this year, with each person needing 22 votes from the 33 remaining members of the Hall of Fame to be inducted. If none of the names received 22 votes, the person with the highest vote count would be inducted.
It nearly happened, with Koon receiving just 23 votes. The official voting breakdown was as follows:
- Jason Koon: 23 (69.7%)
- Scott Seiver: 19 (57.6%)
- Isai Scheinberg: 17 (51.5%)
- Shaun Deeb: 15 (45.5%)
- Mike Matusow: 10 (30.3%)
- Isaac Haxton: 9 (27.3%)
- Chris Moorman: 4 (21.1%)
- Justin Bonomo: 3 (9.1%)
If it was a surprise that only one person was inducted, it was also surprising that 10 Hall of Fame members did not vote for Koon.
Phil Ivey voted only for Koon
One Hall of Fame member who had no hesitation in backing Koon was Phil Ivey.
Speaking to PokerOrg shortly after his induction, Koon said, "Look, I teared up. A couple of the guys called me. Specifically, when Ivey called me. That one hit me hard. He called me and said, 'You're the only guy I voted for.'"
If most of the poker world thought Koon was a lock for induction this year, Koon certainly didn't.
"You know, honestly, I was at lunch with my wife and I got the call from Ty Stewart. And I said, 'Hold up. One, I got in. And two, just me? No way.'
"I'm still shocked by that, obviously. Incredibly honored. Some of the guys that were eligible this year are heroes of mine and mentors of mine, and they're definitely gonna be on my ballot when I vote next year. I've devoted my entire life to this. My entire essence, every ounce of physical and mental grit I could grind, has come out of this game," he said. "And yeah, I really... I still can't believe it. Even getting in at all is shocking, and going in my first year of eligibility is wild."
The hidden sacrifices
Koon is third on poker's all-time money list with $77,032,156 in tournament earnings. More than $40 million of that has come on the prestigious Triton Poker Tour, where he's won 12 titles – five more than anyone else.
But Koon was quick to point out that numbers like this only tell half the story.
"When I got with my wife 12 years ago, my entire purpose and aim changed. I realized that in order to make it, I needed to search for every single ounce of value laying in the entire world. So I just got serious and focused to another level that I'd never had before.
"I think my closest friends understand the sacrifice of me playing with my laptop while I'm trying to take a bath at the same time because I've been playing for 19 hours straight. Or me losing 15 pounds playing live poker for months on end. A lot of poker isn't a beautiful thing. It's very grindy and hard. I think that I was kind of a master of being in the grind."
The grind has also given Koon a greater appreciation for what he has. He told us that he's "overwhelmed" at how his life has come together after a slow start. It's something that might be more common on the high-stakes tour than people might realize.
"I was on this crazy heater. I was winning every day in cash games, and I think I had just won a big Triton or something. I was walking with Phil Ivey down the hall, and he doesn't say much, you know. I know him intimately. Without me saying anything – I wasn't even like, 'Wow, what a week this has been' – he just kind of tapped me on the shoulder and he said, 'Take it all with grace, man. Take it all with grace.'
"That's something that's really stuck with me."
