Answers to the Bay 101 Shooting Star Trivia Questions

Photo: Shooting Star Phil Hellmuth takes a photo with a fan during a break on Day 1B of the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star. Hellmuth lives in the area, and is the only player who has been a Shooting Star every year this tournament was held, all the way back to 1997.

The Bay 101 has been holding this Shooting Star bounty tournament since 1997, and it has been part of the World Poker Tour since 2004 (Season II). In that time there have been a lot of Shooting Stars, highlighting some of the biggest names in poker.

This event has built up a rich history over the years. Here are some trivia questions to test your knowledge on this event. (Unless specifically noted, these questions cover the entire history of this event dating back to 1997.)

Trivia Question #1: Which four players have been a Shooting Star all 12 seasons (dating back to 2004) that it’s been part of the World Poker Tour?

Answer: Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, and Erik Seidel.

Trivia Question #2: Who is the only player who has been a Shooting Star every single year this tournament has been held, from 1997 until the present?

Answer: Phil Hellmuth.

Trivia Question #3: Which player has been a Shooting Star every year from 1997-2003, and again from 2011-2015 (only missing the first seven years that this event was part of the WPT)?

Answer: Mike Sexton. In the first seven years of the World Poker Tour, Sexton’s contract forbid him from playing in WPT events, but he has been a Shooting Star every other year since the tournament began in 1997.

Trivia Question #4: Which two WSOP Main Event winners have won this event?

Answer: Huckleberry Seed won the WSOP Main Event in 1996, and the Bay 101 Shooting Star in 1998. Carlos Mortensen won the Bay 101 Shooting Star in March, 2001, and then won the WSOP Main Event less than two months later.

Trivia Question #5: No reigning WSOP Main Event champion has ever won this event, but which reigning WSOP Main Event champion finished second?

Answer: Chris Moneymaker finished second in the 2004 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, less than a year after winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event.

Trivia Question #6: Which eventual winner of this event went on an incredible streak with eight players remaining to win 17 hands in a row?

Answer: Brandon Cantu went on an incredible rush to win 17 straight hands on the penultimate day of the 2008 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star. Cantu won the title the next day. (WPT Live Updates was on hand that day doing hand-for-hand coverage.)

Trivia Question #7: In the entire history of this event, only two Shooting Stars have gone on to win the entire tournament to claim their own bounty. Name them.

Answer: Huckleberry Seed was a Shooting Star when he won this event in 1998, as was John Bonetti when he won it in 1999. (Both victories predate the World Poker Tour.)

Trivia Question #8: Which five Hollywood actors and actresses have been Shooting Stars in this event?

Answer: Jon Favreau (2004), Mimi Rogers (2005-2006), James Woods (2005-2007), Jennifer Tilly (2006-2012, 2014), and Shannon Elizabeth (2007).