In recent weeks, it seems as if the World Series of Poker is on everyone's mind: every blog post and news article covers the latest wins, making predictions regarding upcoming events, etc. But what about the most interesting and heart-warming stories out there?
When poker tournaments like the WSOP take place, unexpected things are bound to happen. Who had to leave the poker tables sooner than expected? And who surprised the entire world by showing up out of nowhere and dominating the tables? Find out what drama took place at the latest tournaments!
3 WSOP Stories to Remember
First of all, let's address the dramatic moment a poker pro had to pull out of a tournament. Don't worry, it happened under good circumstances, so while this story is definitely unusual, it is also rather exciting. Jason Koon, a 37-year-old poker pro from West Virginia, had to pull out of Event #40: $250,000 Super High Roller after receiving word that his wife went into labor with their second child… just in time for Father's Day!
The professional poker player, known for his accomplishment at live and online tournament poker games, did quite well on the first day of the 40th WSOP event. He ended the day with a stack of 1,740,000 – slightly higher than the starting stack of 1,500,000.
However, he didn't join 36 other contestants for Day 2 of the event on account of rushing home to be with his family.
Fortunately, WSOP officials announced that they are going to refund him his $250,000 entry, so even though he won't be leaving the table with a bracelet, he now can celebrate the birth of his son without the sting of an unnecessary loss.
The second story we are going to recount is that of an unknown player who decided to join the same high-stakes event that Koon was a part of. Every year, poker fans with minimal professional experience join various WSOP events to take part in the exciting tournament.
But while those amateur players tend to stick to relatively low-stakes games, Dustin Bailey chose to jump into the deep end and join the $250,000 Super High Roller event as well.
Bailey, who doesn't have any recorded wins in his past, faced off against poker legacies like Phil Ivey and Alex Foxen.
And quite shockingly, he managed to bag the chip lead on Day 1! In an interview conducted right after his glorious debut, the amateur poker player shocked the world by saying he wasn't really following poker all that much.
Apparently, the businessman managed to convince his family to celebrate Father's Day by taking a trip to Las Vegas, allowing him to have fun and place some bets.
According to Bailey, he played some poker in college, but he hasn't participated in any tournaments since then. Unfortunately, he lost all his chips on Day 2, but for an inexperienced player, landing in 19th place while playing against major sharks is a great accomplishment.
In Conclusion
Plenty of articles were, and probably will be, written to celebrate some great poker wins. But sometimes, you need to pay attention to other types of stories to learn something about the magic of poker! The
latest WSOP news taught us that life is unexpected, and anything can happen – whether you participate in live events or play poker tournaments for free.
All you can do is enjoy the moment as you play one of the most exciting games out there!