Stan Seiff is Casino Manager for one of California's premier casinos and one of Poker's foremost success stories - Bay 101. It's in good hands. Born into Poker, Stan's father, Leonard Seiff was a highly regarded California cardroom operator. "I knew what a bad-beat was before I learned to wish upon a star", Seiff says. Although good at math in school, it wasn't because I studied arithmetic; I just learned to figure odds and percentages early."
Stan's entry into the poker business was natural. Smart, sharp and equipped with knowledge and experience far in excess of his years, Stan rose through the California poker room ranks holding every position on the floor.
In early 2000 Seiff opened the Hustler Casino, in Gardena, featuring one of the largest and finest poker rooms in the world. He returned to Bay 101 in late 2000. Under his leadership, the casino has achieved unparalleled success and recognition.
Bay 101 is a handsome action attraction. It features 40 tables and limits ranging from $2-$4 to $200. The games fill by late afternoon, and there are waiting lists well into evening. Through tournaments and television, Bay 101 has brought visitors, celebrities and exciting notoriety to San Jose.
"We're proud of the contribution Bay 101 and its employees make to the City", Seiff tells POKER PLAYER, "which annually is some $30 million in payroll, services and goods purchased, plus another $5 million in taxes and license fees."
Seiff gives much of the credit for Bay 101's success to the blue-chip quality of its management team. It reads like a California Poker Honor Roll. "Owner Marko Trapani, General Manager Ron Werner, executive Tom Bowling, and Tournament Director Matt Savage are among the most experienced, well known and highly respected names in the game", Seiff points out.
The annual "Shooting Star Poker Tournament" is Bay 101's flagship event. "The concept was to hold a world class tournament with a local identity", Seiff explained. Stan Seiff and crew have developed it into one of the most prestigious events in Poker. In 2004, it became a featured event on the World Poker Tour televised series.
The unique, two event, five day Shooting Star Tournament features top poker stars, Hollywood stars, wanna-be-stars, and some who's only hope is to wish upon a star.
Earlier this year, the Shooting Star Tournament's opening event was a $2,000 buyin No-Limit Hold'em contest that attracted 245 competitors. The 1st Place winner, Lam Hoang, collected $123,000.
The main event, the $10,000 buyin WPT contest drew 518 participants. The prize money totaled $4,972,800! The promise of the Shooting Star Tournament is the dream of becoming the next world class player. This year Nam Le, of Hunting Beach, fulfilled his fantasy when he beat the best to win the championship, fame and $1,198,300.
Stan Seiff has seen a lot of changes in Poker in recent years. "It's become main stream entertainment attracting a much larger and younger market", he says. "For an old poker man it takes a little getting used to have the players call you 'Sir'. It's a far cry from what they once called us." "Online poker dot.coms and television are the two big factors contributing to the renaissance of Poker," in the Casino Manager's opinion. "Young people today are much more familiar with the game than ever was the case previously.
Once the generation raised on computer games discovered Poker, they understood it's the ultimate virtual reality game. Instead of blowing away packmen, now they blow away their opponent's chips."
"Online poker.coms have educated the younger generation to the mechanics of the game. Then when they discover the drama and excitement of real Poker they're players for life", Seiff continued.
But neither is Bay 101 standing still, Seiff reports. "We're preparing to completely remodel the interior," he says, "The casino will receive new carpeting and some areas will be redesigned and expanded. We're also investing in high tech equipment and software to better serve our players."
Without realizing it, Casino Manager Seiff, in his explanation of the changes in store for the casino, revealed the principal behind his own success as well as that of Bay 101 - "to better serve our players".
