FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   D. E. Shaw Synoptic Portfolios 5, L.L.C. 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 12/14/2011 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. [BCEI] (Last) (First) (Middle) 1166 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NINTH FLOOR 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director __X__ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) __X__ Other (specify below) See footnotes 1 and 2. 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) NEW YORK, NY 10036 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) ___ Form filed by One Reporting Person _X_ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Class A Common Stock 3,763,908 D (1) (2) Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
D. E. Shaw Synoptic Portfolios 5, L.L.C. 1166 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NINTH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See footnotes 1 and 2.
D. E. SHAW & CO, L.P. 1166 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NINTH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See footnotes 1 and 2.
D. E. SHAW & CO, L.L.C. 1166 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NINTH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See footnotes 1 and 2.
SHAW DAVID E 120 WEST FORTY-FIFTH STREET 39TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10036	Â	  X	Â	See footnotes 1 and 2.

Signatures

/s/ Nathan Thomas, Authorized Signatory, D. E. Shaw Synoptic Portfolios 5, L.L.C.		12/14/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
/s/ Nathan Thomas, Chief Compliance Officer, D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P.		12/14/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
/s/ Nathan Thomas, Authorized Signatory, D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C.		12/14/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date
/s/ Nathan Thomas, Attorney-in-Fact for David E. Shaw		12/14/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The securities reported in this Form 3 are directly held by D. E. Shaw Synoptic Portfolios 5, L.L.C. ("Synoptic"). D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. ("DESCO LP"), as investment adviser to Synoptic; D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C. ("DESCO LLC"), as manager of Synoptic; and Mr. David E. Shaw ("David E. Shaw") (as president and sole shareholder of D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc., which is the general partner of DESCO LP, and as president and sole shareholder of D. E. Shaw & Co. II, Inc., which is the managing member of DESCO LLC) may be deemed to be the beneficial owners of the securities reported in this Form 3 for purposes of Rule 16a-1(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(2)	In accordance with instruction 5(b)(iv), the entire number of shares of Common Stock of the Issuer that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by Synoptic, DESCO LP, and DESCO LLC is reported herein. Each of DESCO LP, DESCO LLC, and David E. Shaw disclaims any beneficial ownership of any security listed in this Form 3, except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein.

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