Jason Koon Nearly Goes Back-To-Back In Bellagio $25,000 High Roller Events

While many are happy to see 2016 come to an end, Jason Koon might not feel the same, having put together his best year on the tournament circuit. In July, Koon earned a career-high $514,080 for taking down a $25,000 event at Aria and in August, he bested that score with a win in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open for $1 million.

His most recent success came this weekend at Bellagio, when he won a $25,000 buy-in event for $412,800. The very next day, he returned to Bellagio for another $25,000 event and chopped it with Ankush Mandavia for another $333,747.

In total, Koon added more than $746,000 to his bankroll, along with 840 total Card Player Player of the Year points. With 4,053 on the year, he now sits in 11th place overall and has brought his total live tournament earnings to nearly $6.5 million.

The first $25,000 event drew a field of 43 entrants, creating a total prize pool of $1,032,000. The second event was even larger, attracting 64 entries and building a $1,536,000 prize pool.

Mandavia, who picked up $403,532 for winning the second event, added 504 POY points, giving him 3,680 for the year and moving him into 19th place in the rankings.

Also at that final table was David Peters, who pocketed $122,880 for taking fifth. Peters, who recently crossed the $14 million in live earnings mark, is now just 197 points behind Fedor Holz for the POY lead.

Adrian Mateos Diaz, who final tabled both events for a total of $355,200, moved into 21st place in the POY rankings.

Here is a look at the final results.

Dec. 8 — $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Entries: 43
Prize pool: $1,032,000

Dec. 9 — $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Entries: 64
Prize pool: $1,536,000