I have the same issue and problems with the tournaments in the South Florida area. State laws here regarding poker are so outdated, but that just stands to reason with a state that always seems to get things backwards or end up in a scandal.

I now look at the live tournaments here as a total crapshoot for the exact reasons you state. I still give myself better odds than most of the other players that enter, but it still requires being smacked in the face with the deck. I don't enjoy the local live games all that much directly due to the structure that they use.

There are some local higher stakes games that exploit the laws by preventing you from going broke in the first 'X' number of hands. The first level is 25/25 limit for those first 'X' hands (Total Buyin/32) and then changes to 25/25 NL for the remainder of the 15 minute level. This structure actually gives you a chance to build a stack but requires that you're willing to play in some of the higher stakes games. Florida law says you can't lose more than $32 in a single poker hand and this is a nifty little loophole that some of the local tournaments are using. Do any of the card rooms near you do this?