Online poker giant PokerStars has announced a duo of new ambassadors, with Jason Koon and Caitlin Comeskey now wearing the patch, and each bringing something different to the party.
Many of PokerStars’ ambassadors in recent years have come from the world of streaming, with the brand seemingly more focused on ‘grassroots’ names rather than those at or near the top of the all-time money list.
With the appointment of Koon, that strategy has shifted; the West Virginia-born pro has over $58M in recorded tournament winnings, putting him fourth on the all-time money list behind only Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo and the UK’s Stephen Chidwick.
He was a former ambassador for GGPoker but left in February of this year with a tweet that wasn’t the warmest. His signing will be seen as a coup for Stars.
With the addition of Caitlin Comeskey to the roster, the folks behind the red spade are also continuing their efforts to promote the brand using players for whom views and follower counts are possibly more meaningful than lifetime earnings.
Comeskey has built a fanbase not from sharing hands and strategy, but from creating topical comedy content focused on the world of poker.
Let’s take a closer look at PokerStars’ newest recruits.
The Crusher: Jason Koon
The third-highest tournament earner in US history, Jason Koon has an almost unequalled tournament resume with results dating back over 16 years. His first World Series of Poker cashes came in 2009, playing $2K events, with his first recorded win following two years later in a $550 tournament in Los Angeles. Less than six months later, he was playing the $25K High Roller at the 2012 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, making the final table and banking over $271K.
As Koon has risen up the money list, so too has he climbed the stakes ladder. Of his live results over the past year, none have come in tournaments with buy-ins under $25K. A trip to WSOP Paradise last December saw Koon play the $25K High Roller, the $50K Super High Roller and the $100K Ultra High Roller, cashing in each and making two final tables. He’s since enjoyed a string of great results in Triton Poker Super High Roller events, including a $1M+ score at the Montenegro stop in May.
A former GGPoker and partypoker ambassador, Koon has one WSOP bracelet to date ($25K Heads-Up Hold’em, 2021) and has a career-best cash of $3,579,836, won in a short deck event at Triton Montenegro in 2018.
The Comedian: Caitlin Comeskey
Caitlin Comeskey won a Global Poker Award for Short Form Content.
Comeskey is a poker pro, podcast host and comedian from Texas who has been entertaining the poker world for years with sketches, vlogs, streams and commentary.
Her experience as a live cash game player in Austin, coupled with her stand-up comedy past, has made Comeskey a fresh voice amid poker’s social media crowd. She regularly posts topical comedy sketches focusing on news and developments in the poker world, drawing hundreds of thousands of views, and earlier this year won a Global Poker Award for Short Form Content Creator of the Year.
Comeskey’s tournament results date back to 2022, yet she has dozens of results from this year alone, including a win in the WPT Voyage Ladies’ event. Her best results have come at her ‘home’ poker room, The Lodge in Round Rock, Texas, where two runner-up finishes saw her bank $55K and $60K, contributing to career tournament earnings of over $250K.
While she has the poker skills to pay the bills, it’s her comedy chops that have seen her build a following, and it will be interesting to see how she juggles her ‘say anything’ approach with the responsibilities of a sponsored pro.
Additional images courtesy of Rational Intellectual Holdings, Ltd. Tournament statistics thanks to The Hendon Mob.