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Tournaments ruled illegal in Florida - news report

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State pulls felt from under poker tournaments
No-limit competitions at South Florida parimutuels led Derby Lane and others to fold the TV-inspired games.
By THOMAS C. TOBIN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 12, 2005

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ST. PETERSBURG - Poker tournaments have been suspended at Derby Lane and other Florida parimutuel venues because of a legal tangle over state rules.

Local gamblers who wager at the historic greyhound track were left with fewer options Friday. Many stayed away or grudgingly played at regular or "live poker" tables.

The daily tournaments have become increasingly popular with gamblers, who enter for a relatively low fee of $45 and hope to go home with prizes that can range from $200 to more than $1,000.

The tournaments also have been a welcome revenue source for greyhound tracks, which are diversifying to stay competitive with Indian gaming, gambling boats, the Internet and other entertainment options.

Derby Lane is the only Tampa Bay area parimutuel venue to offer poker. Its card room, which averages about 300 poker players a day, was down about 100 players Friday, said Vera Filipelli, the track spokeswoman.

Many probably were scared away by media reports suggesting all poker had been suspended there, she said.

"They're playing live poker but they're not happy," she said. "You have a certain segment of people who just love the tournaments because that's what they see on TV."

Filipelli said the track hoped the suspension would be lifted by next week.

But that scenario doesn't appear likely, according to David J. Roberts, director of the state Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. The only remedy appears to be a change in state law when the Legislature convenes next year, he said Friday.

The division shut down all tournaments Wednesday following a long sequence of events.

About a year and a half ago, Calder Race Course and Dania Jai-Alai, both in South Florida, challenged the state rules that kept poker tournaments in check, in part with limits on wagering and entry fees. A lower court judge agreed, ruling there is no language in Florida law that allows the division to limit poker tournaments.

Earlier this month, the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee upheld the lower court's opinion.

That led the parimutuel division to strike the offending passages, which eliminated several of the limits that kept the stakes on poker tournaments relatively low.

After that, however, South Florida parimutuels began offering poker tournaments with no limits on wagering, in violation of state law, Roberts said.

In response, the parimutuel division repealed all its rules on tournament poker and suspended tournament play, citing "an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare."

Roberts said the rules were developed with input from the gaming industry. "We thought they were working very well," he said. "This was not our doing."

The only remedy would be to rewrite state law, Roberts said. He said his agency has no plans to do so but acknowledged that such an effort could come from the gaming industry.

Like other local players, Bob Lent of Clearwater said Friday he is not inclined to return to Derby Lane for anything but tournament poker. At a Halloween tournament, he won several hundred dollars for finishing in sixth place, he said.

"The play is a lot more exciting because it's more serious," he said of the tournaments. "It was a lot more enjoyable for me."