Jason Koon Leaves GGPoker – Holz Named Integrity Ambassador
3 minutes
Last Updated: February 8, 2024
GGPoker has been the leader in the online poker industry for some time now but has found itself in the center of some bad press early this year, as it was discovered a player had been exploiting a security weakness to gain a significant advantage in games on the popular poker platform.
Just weeks following the incident, some prominent figures in the poker world, such as Patrick Leonard, called on poker ambassadors to take more responsibility. Jason Koon announced his immediate departure from the GGPoker team.
Koon announced his departure in a short Tweet that revealed nothing as to the reasons for his departure but has left many in the poker world asking questions.
Just a few hours before this announcement, GGPoker’s Fedor Holz announced that he is taking on the role of “Poker Integrity Ambassador.”
Both players were previously part of GGPoker’s Poker Integrity Council, which has since effectively disbanded, given the other council members cut off their ties with GGPoker.
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Koon Leaves GGPoker After More Than Two Years
Back in October 2021, Jason Koon was signed by GGPoker as a part of its poker ambassadors team, which included Daniel Negreanu, Fedor Holz, Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, and Dan Bilzerian.
The high-stakes crusher has since done a fantastic job of promoting the site at every step and, in July 2022, was named a part of the Poker Integrity Council, GGPoker’s attempt at dealing with cheating of all sorts in the poker world.
Koon personally served as the Poker Integrity Ambassador as well, a role that came under some scrutiny when a superuser scandal of sorts shook GGPoker to the ground.
While the exact reasons for Jason Koon’s departure from the company are unclear, it would not be too farfetched to assume that he no longer wanted to take any of the personal blame in security breach cases like this one and would rather focus on his thriving poker career.
Jason also continues to be the face of the Triton Poker Series, where he has had massive success over the last several years and where he continues to serve as an ambassador.
Fedor Holz Takes on the Challenging Role
Stepping in Koon’s shoes as Poker Integrity Ambassador is Fedor Holz, another member of GGPoker’s team of ambassadors and another extremely talented poker player.
Over his career, Holz has amassed over $40 million in live tournament winnings and created one of the world's most successful poker training sites in PokerCode.
Holz has also been a member of the Poker Integrity Council since its foundation, and with other members no longer affiliated with the operator, he remains the only player directly tied to GGPoker’s efforts to protect the integrity of the game.
In his announcement, Fedor has expressed his intention to involve himself as much as possible in the security processes and help improve the security of the games on the world’s biggest poker site.
His appointment was hailed by many of poker’s biggest players and industry insiders, as his reputation as a player with impeccable integrity precedes him.
Great Challenges for GGPoker Await
GGPoker has climbed to the very top of the online poker industry since first launching in 2014, and it has affiliated itself with many of the industry’s bigger names over the years.
The likes of Negreanu, Koon, and Holz are only a few of the recognizable names that have been tied with GGPoker over the years, but the operator’s success remains significantly tied to the ability to keep the games secure.
The recent revelation of a player who was able to abuse a security weakness in the GGPoker platform to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the players has put the poker community on high alert.
Coupled with the revelation of a botting ring on another unlicensed poker site, this incident has cast a lot of shadow on online poker as a whole, causing players to question how safe they are when playing poker over the internet.
As technology continues to improve and new cheating methods, such as RTA, emerge, keeping online poker safe is becoming an ever-growing challenge.
While GGPoker’s security team will no doubt have its hands full with chasing down potential cheaters, it will be up to Fedor Holz to help the team recognize potential cheats faster and assure the poker community that playing at GGPoker is actually safe.
This is especially true for the higher stakes players, who will want assurances following the recent scandals, and most of whom are thrilled to see a player of Holz’s stature take over for Koon, whose reputation was never once put in doubt over the long years of his poker career.
