From: Lopen | #033
Nah you can totally reach first place with stars. The trick is to use one right before you hit the item box, then it's more likely to give you another one because for some reason stars are more likely if you have one on-- and if you're lucky you'll be able to chain 3 together.
I'm not sure if this is true, but if it is, I kind of wonder if it's a nod to certain SMW levels.
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http://i.imgur.com/FDwwl.gif