Florida Poker Seen as Considerable Expansion of Gambling

New Florida Poker rules allow 'No Limit' Texas Hold 'em for a $100 maximum buy-in for normal play and a maximum $800 buy-in for tournament play.

Betting on limit poker games has been increased to $5 from $2.

The new law also allows for Jackpots and other giveaways.

Operation of card rooms at Pari-mutual venues has been expanded to allow them to operate when there is no racing on that days schedule.

The new law also increases the fee charged to parimutuals for licensing poker tables.

Noah Carbone, Palm Beach Kennel Club card room director said "We now have real poker in the state of Florida." Since the law came into effect on July 1, Carbone said "We had 390 players compete in a $200 game where the winner took home $14,000, I would say it has driven up our business 40 to 50 percent."

Real poker seems to be a huge success early on as players and operators give praise to Florida lawmakers for their insight in allowing this type of play to exist.

Pat Biddix, president and general manager of Melbourne Greyhound Park said that he has noticed an increase in card play at the park.

"Business shot up almost immediately after July 1, the no-limit Texas Hold'em we're allowed to play now is what the gambling boats have been playing all along. But is you go out on one of the boats and you're one of the first few people out of the tournament, you are in for a long ride," stated Biddix.

Speaking out against the new rules was Pat Fowler, executive director of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. Mr. Fowler said, "we are disappointed that this bill went into law without any consideration for the impact it can cause, When you have a substantial increase in the amount of the pots you are playing for from the previous amounts, we are talking a considerable expansion of gambling."

Directing his comments specifically towards pari-mutual operations, Fowler said "The thing that was positive before for the compulsive gambler, is that it wasn't continuous - you could only play on certain days and certain times. To a great extent that has now been altered and it will have an impact on people with problems."

As many poker players have said in the past about Florida's law prior to July 1 the games were not so much about skill and strategy and they were more like a game of showdown.

Benny Colette, Chairman of the Florida Gaming Corp. which includes the Fort Pierce Jai Alai, said the new law "makes the game more appealing to the serious player. Increasing the bet to $5 will bring more strategy into the game."

On July 23, many of the card room official from around the state will attend a rules workshop to hammer out details on the handling of 'Bad Beat Jackpots'

Bad Beat Jackpot is a promotion many card rooms have that is triggered when a player holding a very strong hand loses to a player with an even stronger hand. Different card rooms have different rules for what qualifies as a strong enough losing hand, and the payouts vary. The jackpot often is formed by a small amount from each pot played at the table.

July 7, 2007
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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