Los Angeles, CA (March 3, 2017) — Season XV of the World Poker Tour® rolls on with the WPT® Bay 101 Shooting Star at Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, CA. The $7,500 Main Event is one of the most fun-filled events of the season, awarding bounty prizes on a select group of players and drawing one of the most elite fields on the tournament circuit.
The Season XV WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star $7,500 Main Event takes place starting Monday, March 6, 2017, and runs through Saturday, March 11. More than 50 players have been selected as Shooting Stars in the event. Knocking out one of these players will earn a player $2,500 in cash. In addition to the more than $125,000 to be won in tournament bounties, each chip leader from Day 1a and Day 1b of the tournament will be awarded with a $10,000 cash prize.
Last season’s WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star $7,500 Main Event proved a record field size for the event with 753 entries. A prize pool of more than $5.3 million was generated with $1.298 million going to the winner. Stefan Schillhabel, a German player, won the event for the largest live score of his poker career. Joining Schillhabel at the final table were Adam Geyer and Maria Ho.
Ho is one of more than 50 players selected as a Shooting Star for Season XV, and she’ll be joined by fellow bounties Erik Seidel, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and Richard Seymour. WPT Co-Commentators Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten will also be Shooting Stars, as will WPT Raw Deal Analyst Tony Dunst.
Ema Zajmovic, the first female winner of an open event on the WPT Main Tour, became a late addition to the list of Shooting Star players.
Following the WPT L.A. Poker Classic that recently completed, WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star is the second leg of the World Poker Tour’s California Swing. Last season, it was Ankush Mandavia who emerged as the California Swing winner thanks to a a 23rd-place finish in Bay 101 Shooting Star to earn $30,310 and an eighth-place finish from a field of 409 in WPT Rolling Thunder for $36,646.
For becoming the California Swing champion, Mandavia earned perks and comps that he can use on this year’s California Swing, including transportation and accommodations.
For complete information on the Season XV WPT California Swing contest, click here.
Click here for more information regarding the Season XV WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star event.