Bay 101 Shooting Stars, New MSPT Pros, Taiwan Casino Coming, Macau Grows

Bay 101 Shooting Stars Almost Full

One of the stops in the spring months of the World Poker Tour is at Bay 101 in San Jose, California. The Shooting Stars tournament is unique in that it offers bounties on 50 “shooting stars” of poker.

Tournament Director Matt Savage took to the 2+2 forums to note that 45 of the 50 players invited have confirmed that they will play. While there will be some usual faces in the crowd, like Phil Hellmuth, the new names on the list include Jay Farber, Paul Volpe, Matt Salsberg, Ludovic Lacay, Jason Koon, Brian Rast, Ryan Riess, Blair Hinkle, Loni Harwood, and Aaron Massey.

MSPT Adds to Pro Team

The Mid-States Poker Tour announced the addition of two members to its roster of professional players. Matt Kirby and Matt Alexander are the new players, and they join Blake Bohn on the team.

Kirby won his first tournament at the MSPT Northern Lights event in Minnesota in 2012, and he went on to win another MSPT bracelet. Alexander won a 2010 Heartland Poker Tour event and made two MSPT final tables.

Taiwan to Open Casino in 2019

The Taiwanese government announced that the first casino in the country will open in Matsu in 2019. However, the law authorizing the casino operations has yet to pass, but officials believe it will happen at the beginning of 2014.

Macau Setting Revenue Records

The Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau released revenue figures from 2013, and the 19 percent year-on-year increase showed that the casinos took in approximately $45.2 billion from patrons.

Analysts say that revenue from Macau gambling will grow another 20 percent in 2014 and reach the $77 billion mark in 2017.