| | |
Shooting Stars Earns Bounties
Danny Nguyen of San Jose will defend his title Monday morning in a field of
500 that are expected to play next week at the 10th Annual Shooting Star
Tournament at Bay 101. The no-Limit Hold ‘Em play kicks off the five day
event, which last year drew a record 440 players.
Matt Savage, tournament director and one of the most recognized faces in
televised poker tournaments in the world, believe that this year’s event
will reach the projected 500 figure, a feat which he considers amazing.
Savage, who has been in Canada and Australia for the past month for meetings
and tournaments, states, “The number of players involved in poker has grown
over the last year. It’s becoming more popular worldwide.”
The winner of the tournament gets a prize of $1 million and a seat at the
World Poker Tour championship in Las Vegas later this year. Each table at
the tournament will have one player designated as the Star. When a Star is
eliminated from play, the player who caused the elimination will win an
immediate bounty payout of $5,000. Savage noted that in previous years,
players were able to win several bounties, which is an added point of fun
and interest that attracts the growing amount of players.
Don’t worry if you have bad luck at random draws, though, the Stars are
featured poker professionals, although some spots may be reserved for
celebrities. James Woods, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jennifer Tilly are all
silver screen Stars, while Nguyen, World Tour Poker champion Gus Hansen, and
Doyle Brunson will also begin play as stars.
The event will take place in two groups because of the large field. The
first group will begin play at 11:15am Monday, the second on Tuesday. The
Final Table will be televised at 5pm on March 3 as part of the World Poker
Tour televised series on the Travel Channel.
|
|