Bay 101 Poker Room Guide

Bay 101 is a long-running San Jose card room located at 1788 N. First Street, near San José Mineta International Airport and the North First Street corridor. The room is best understood as a Northern California poker destination rather than a traditional Las Vegas-style casino resort. Players will find live poker, California card-room table games, daily No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, and a smoke-free gaming environment that operates around the clock.

Bay 101’s official site lists the property as open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with 49 total gaming/card tables. PokerAtlas separately lists Bay 101 with 19 poker tables, which is the more useful number for players trying to estimate the size of the poker operation itself. Because table inventory and live-game availability can change during the day, players should check current listings or call the room before making a special trip.

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Bay 101 Poker Room Overview

Bay 101 Casino is one of the better-known poker rooms in the San Francisco Bay Area. The card room opened under the Bay 101 name in 1994 and has built much of its poker reputation around live cash games, daily tournaments, and the Bay 101 Shooting Star, a World Poker Tour event scheduled to return in 2026.

The room’s core appeal is practical: it is open all day, it has a large card-room footprint by regional standards, and it sits in San Jose rather than in a destination casino market. That makes Bay 101 especially relevant for local players, Silicon Valley visitors, airport-area travelers, and tournament players looking for organized daily events in the South Bay.

Players should remember that California card rooms operate differently from full casino resorts in some other states. Bay 101 offers poker and approved California-style table games, not a full resort casino experience with hotel towers, slots, or a large attached entertainment complex.

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Location and Access

Bay 101 is located at 1788 N. First Street in San Jose, California. The property is close to San José Mineta International Airport, making it a convenient stop for players flying into the South Bay or staying near the airport.

The card room is positioned along North First Street, a major commercial corridor with nearby hotels, office properties, restaurants, and airport services. For visiting poker players, the most practical lodging options are generally airport-area and downtown San Jose hotels rather than an on-property casino hotel.

Bay 101 lists its main phone number as (408) 451-8888 and its official website as bay101.com.

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Room Size and Layout

Bay 101’s official website lists 49 total gaming tables in a smoke-free setting. PokerAtlas lists the poker room specifically at 19 poker tables.

For CMS and player-planning purposes, the safest way to describe the room is:

• 19 poker tables listed by PokerAtlas

• 49 total gaming/card tables listed by Bay 101

• Smoke-free gaming environment

• Open 24/7

• Professional dealers

• Nearby restrooms, televisions, cocktail service, and other player amenities listed by PokerAtlas

Because the room also spreads non-poker California card-room games, players should not assume all 49 tables are available for live poker at all times.

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Cash Games at Bay 101

PokerAtlas lists a mix of No-Limit Hold’em, Limit Hold’em, and Omaha Hi-Lo cash games at Bay 101. Current listed cash games include:

• 2/3/5 No-Limit Hold’em with a $200 to $800 buy-in, listed as running always

• 2/3/5 No-Limit Hold’em with an $800 to $5,000 buy-in, listed as running one or two tables

• 5/5/10 No-Limit Hold’em with a $2,000 to $10,000 buy-in, listed as running three times per week

• 10/10/20 No-Limit Hold’em with a $10,000 minimum buy-in, listed as running once per week

• 8/16 Limit Hold’em, listed as running always

• 30/60 Limit Hold’em, listed as running always

• 100/200 Limit Hold’em, listed as running always

• 8/16 Limit Omaha 8-or-Better, listed as running one or two tables

• 20/40 Limit Omaha 8-or-Better, listed as running two times per week

Game availability can change quickly based on player traffic, staffing, special events, and tournament schedules. Serious cash-game players should verify the current board before traveling, especially for bigger-limit games or Omaha Hi-Lo.

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Tournaments at Bay 101

Bay 101 hosts daily No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments. The official Bay 101 events page lists recurring morning tournaments with buy-ins commonly around $200, including Mystery Bounty, re-entry, no re-entry, turbo, and double-points formats. The official event page also states that registration opens one hour before the start and that walk-ins are welcome for most events.

Players can view the current Bay 101 tournament calendar at Bay 101 Events & Tournaments.

Bay 101 is also scheduled to host the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star festival from Oct. 16 to Nov. 1, 2026, according to the World Poker Tour. The $5,300 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship is scheduled for Oct. 23-27, 2026. That festival is separate from Bay 101’s daily tournament schedule and should be checked through official WPT and Bay 101 channels before making travel plans.

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Registration, Lists, and Cashier Procedures

Bay 101’s official tournament page states that registration opens one hour before tournament start times and that walk-ins are welcome for most events. Individual tournament listings include registration-close times, starting stacks, re-entry rules, and buy-in breakdowns.

PokerAtlas lists phone-in list availability for 20/40 Limit Hold’em and above. It also notes that check cashing requires application and approval.

For practical purposes:

• Check tournament registration times before arrival.

• Confirm whether a tournament allows re-entry.

• Call ahead for high-limit games or games that do not run daily.

• Ask the floor or cashier about check-cashing requirements before relying on that option.

• Bring valid photo identification; Bay 101 states guests must be 21 or older to enter.

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Parking

Bay 101 lists complimentary self-parking available 24/7 in its parking structure. PokerAtlas also lists free parking and valet parking among room features and notes that players should call ahead for RV parking availability.

For most players, the simplest plan is to use the property’s self-parking structure and allow extra time during peak hours, special tournaments, or WPT festival dates.

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Dining and Amenities

Bay 101’s official website states that its dining experience is being reimagined and that a new restaurant concept is coming soon. The site also references grab-and-go options for quick bites, coffee, and snacks.

PokerAtlas lists several player amenities, including food tableside, cocktail service, a self-serve drink station, televisions, Wi-Fi, USB chargers, massages, and nearby restrooms. As with all room-feature listings, players should confirm anything essential before visiting, especially if they need food service during a long cash-game or tournament session.

The North First Street and airport-area location also gives players access to nearby hotels, restaurants, and transportation options outside the card room.

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Hotel and Lodging Context

Bay 101 does not appear in the current Angry Aces Where to Stay map, and no approved Angry Aces San Jose hotel pages are currently confirmed for this poker room.

Bay 101’s official guest-services page lists nearby hotels including Signia by Hilton San Jose, San Jose Marriott, Hotel De Anza, and The Westin San Jose. Those hotels may be useful for visiting players, but they should not be treated as Angry Aces internal Where to Stay relationships unless the publisher creates or confirms matching CMS hotel records.

For players booking independently, the most practical hotel search areas are:

• San José Mineta International Airport / North First Street

• Downtown San Jose

• Santa Clara business-travel hotels

• Properties with rideshare or rental-car access to Bay 101

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Practical Player Tips

Bay 101 is a useful room for both cash-game and tournament players, but planning matters.

• Check current cash-game listings before traveling for a specific stake.

• Call ahead for bigger-limit games, Omaha Hi-Lo, phone-in list details, or RV parking.

• Arrive early for daily tournaments because registration windows can be short.

• Review re-entry rules before buying in; Bay 101’s daily events include both re-entry and no re-entry formats.

• Use the official Bay 101 tournament page for the most current event details.

• Expect a card-room environment rather than a full casino resort.

• For major series such as WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, confirm schedule, hotel rates, and registration procedures through official WPT and Bay 101 sources.

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Official Contact Information

Bay 101 Casino is located at 1788 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95112.

The official phone number is (408) 451-8888.

The official website is bay101.com.

Players can review current tournament listings at Bay 101 Events & Tournaments, and PokerAtlas provides an additional player-facing room page at Bay 101 Casino on PokerAtlas.

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Hero Image Recommendation

Official poker room image needed. The best image to locate would be an official Bay 101 poker room interior or gaming-floor image that shows the card-room environment without focusing on an identifiable individual player. If an official poker-room interior image is not available, use an official Bay 101 casino exterior or approved promotional room image.