Iconic Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship Returns to World Poker Tour (WPT) Schedule
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One of the most popular stops in World Poker Tour history is returning to the WPT schedule for the first time since 2017. The Bay 101 Shooting Star has a rich history dating back to 1997, but it hasn’t been held since 2020 when the COVID pandemic interrupted the final table and forced the final 10 players to end things with a chop.
The Bay 101 Shooting Star event had been running for seven years before the 8th Annual event joined the schedule in 2004 as part of the WPT’s second season. Phil Gordon won that tournament for $360,000, while Chris Moneymaker, who the year before won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, was the last $5,000 bounty standing.
Returning to the Schedule
The latest WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star festival will run from October 17-31, highlighted by the $5,300 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship Event. The Championship Event will take place October 25-29, with a delayed televised final table to be played at a later date in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Bay 101 Casino has long been a staple of the World Poker Tour’s rich history,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The players, the fans, and the incredible team at Bay 101 create an amazing environment. We look forward to returning to this iconic venue once again.”
According to a press release, the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship event will adhere to the classic bounty rules of years past. Each starting table will have at least one “Shooting Star”, with a $2,500 bounty given to the player who knocks the Shooting Star out of the tournament. If a Shooting Star wins the tournament, they will collect their own bounty. In addition to the bounties, there is a $5,000 chip leader bonus for chip leaders of Day 1 starting flights.
“The news of the Shooting Star returning to the World Poker Tour has been on everyone’s wish list for a long time,” said Casino Manager Samuel Quinto. “We look forward to recapturing the excitement of one of poker’s most talked about events.”
History of the Bay 101 Shooting Star
Since its inception event, Bay 101 has hosted 15 WPT Championship events. The last winner to etch their name on the Mike Sexton Champions Cup was Sam Panzica, who won the Season 15 tournament for $1,373,000.
| Season | Year | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 1997 | $1,060 | - | - | Sam Merchant | $29,000 |
| - | 1998 | $1,000 | 151 | $151,000 | Huck Seed | $30,250 |
| - | 2000 | $1,050 | 123 | $122,850 | Chau Vu | $44,550 |
| - | 2001 | $1,000 | 150 | $150,000 | Carlos Mortensen | $44,550 |
| - | 2002 | $1,560 | 150 | $202,500 | Bernard Ko | $66,825 |
| - | 2003 | $1,560 | 150 | $202,500 | David Sprenkle | $80,000 |
| Season 2 | 2004 | $5,200 | 243 | $1,125,000 | Phil Gordon | $360,000 |
| Season 3 | 2005 | $10,000 | 438 | $4,045,000 | Danny Nguyen | $1,025,000 |
| Season 4 | 2006 | $10,000 | 518 | $4,702,800 | Nam Le | $1,198,300 |
| Season 5 | 2007 | $10,000 | 450 | $4,490,000 | Ted Forrest | $1,100,000 |
| Season 6 | 2008 | $10,000 | 376 | $3,336,000 | Brandon Cantu | $1,000,000 |
| Season 7 | 2009 | $10,000 | 391 | $3,444,500 | Steve Brecher | $1,025,500 |
| Season 8 | 2010 | $10,000 | 333 | $3,163,500 | McLean Karr | $878,500 |
| Season 9 | 2011 | $10,000 | 415 | $3,942,500 | Alan Sternberg | $1,039,000 |
| Season 10 | 2012 | $10,000 | 364 | $3,458,000 | Moon Kim | $960,900 |
| Season 11 | 2013 | $7,500 | 643 | $4,444,950 | WeiKai Chang | $1,138,350 |
| Season 12 | 2014 | $7,500 | 718 | $5,133,700 | James Carroll | $1,256,550 |
| Season 13 | 2015 | $7,500 | 708 | $4,835,180 | Taylor Paur | $1,214,200 |
| Season 14 | 2016 | $7,500 | 753 | $5,138,800 | Stefan Schillhabel | $1,298,000 |
| Season 15 | 2017 | $7,500 | 806 | $5,722,600 | Sam Panzica | $1,373,000 |
| - | 2019 | $2,500 | 440 | $2,156,000 | Sandeep Pulusani | $354,400 |
| - | 2020 | $5,200 | 290 | $1,331,000 | Craig Varnell | $159,710 |
*Images courtesy of the WPT.
