The 'Shooting Stars'

Are you looking to play in a well-organized, unique, and really fun poker tournament? If so, look no further than Bay 101's Shooting Star tournament. If you're interested, allow me to give you one tip: Book your entry early next year, as this tremendously popular event sells out well in advance.

The highlight of the annual Shooting Star tournament is the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. The field is limited to 150 players and includes 15 invited "stars." This year's stars were well-known poker players (John Bonetti, Vince Burgio, "Miami" John Cernuto, Barbara Enright, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanda, Tom McEvoy, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Marsha Waggoner, and myself), the defending champion (Bernard Ko), and local player Oran (O.C.) Cogdill, who earned his star status.

The stars are seated at separate tables at the beginning of the tournament, not because they are seeded (as some think) or because they warrant celebrity status (as others might think), but because they provide value for the participants, and the guru and brains behind the Shooting Star tournament, Bay 101 Executive Vice President Marko Trapani, wants everyone to have an equal shot at that value. Let me explain.

The 15 stars have bounties on their heads. That's right, bounties, and everyone in the tournament is a bounty hunter. If you bust a star, you get $1,500 on the spot! And don't think these bounty hunters don't seek the stars out and come after them. They do!

All the players want to bust a star, not just because of the bounty money, but because they also get a T-shirt with the busted star's picture on it. And the caption on the T-shirt reads, "I busted Mike Sexton," for example. They also get their picture taken with the star they put on the rail. Cheers and high-fiving abound when a star bites the dust, especially at the hands of a local.

You may wonder why the stars would submit to playing in a tournament with a bull's-eye on their chest. There are two very good reasons: First and foremost, Bay 101 generously pays the buy-in of the invited stars, and second, the stars are also eligible to win the bounty money by busting another star or winning the tournament and collecting their own bounty. The truth is, it's quite an honor to be selected as a Shooting Star. (It's also a lot of fun - until you get busted!)

In addition to the prize money, the top three finishers win paid entries into the $10,000 championship event at the World Series of Poker. Congratulations to the 2003 Shooting Star winners: first place - David Sprinkle ($70,000), second place - Vinnie Vinh ($42,000), and third place - Nhut Tran ($22,000). Honorable mention goes to Men "The Master" Nguyen for making it to the final table and outlasting all the other stars. And John Bonetti gets the "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" award. He not only was the first star to go out, he was the first player in the tournament to go out!

It takes a lot of preparation and many dedicated people to conduct a first-class event like Bay 101's Shooting Star tournament. Much of the credit for the success of this tournament goes to June Richardson (executive administrative assistant), who should be nominated for "National Casino Employee of the Year" every year (if and when they ever come up with that award). Executive Host Chuck Thompson, Cardroom Manager Stan Seif, Dealer Coordinator Susan Deeb, and Tournament Director Matt Savage also deserve kudos for the job they did in making this year's Shooting Star tournament such an outstanding event.

On behalf of the stars and participants in this year's tournament, let me say thanks to all of you for a job well done.

Take care.

Mike Sexton is the executive host for PartyPoker.com and a commentator on the World Poker Tour (which can be seen on the Travel Channel every Wednesday night).