The WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship offers one of the most unique settings on the live tournament poker circuit. Thousands of fans crowd the small Bay 101 tournament area in hopes of seeing superstars like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari and Jason Mercier, asking for a quick picture or an autograph from their favorites. Once star players bust, it’s not uncommon for them to be seen talking to fans long on the rail long after their elimination from the tournament.
MORE: McKeehen wins WSOP Main Event
Close to 50 players will be tagged as “Shooting Stars” for the WPT event. Any player lucky enough to eliminate a Shooting Star will receive a $2,500 bonus … you can bet that the players will be out for blood at the tables, hoping to make a few extra dollars on way to a deep run in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship!
Reigning and defending World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Joseph McKeehen will join Negreanu, Hellmuth, Esfandiari, Mercier and several others as bounties. It is the first time that the Champ will have a bounty on his head, we’ll soon find out how he deals with the added pressure - although given the way he handled the pressure-filled November Nine finale on ESPN, we’re sure he’ll be fine!
The WPT Championship event begins later today.
WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT) BAY 101 SHOOTING STAR
Bay 101 San Jose, CA
Festival dates: March 6-11, 2016
WPT Championship: March 7-11, 2016 Shooting Star Prelim Event: March 6-7, 2016 High Roller Event: March 9-10, 2016
2015 WPT BAY 101 SHOOTING STAR CHAMPIONSHIP
WPT BAY 101 SHOOTING STAR MAIN EVENT CHAMPIONS
MOST TOURNAMENT RESULTS AT BAY 101
ALL-TIME MONEY LIST AT BAY 101
Statistical information provided by Global Poker Index and The Hendon Mob Database.
*Cover photo courtesy of Neil Stoddart/PokerStars (EPT)
