anything in FL other than $2 - $2 limit

[br549007]

I live in Daytona beach, Fl and the dog track has a poker room with only $2 -$2 limit games and sometimes a small tournament. The rake is 10% with $5 cap plus toke to dealer. I just do not see any profit there.
Do any of the other card rooms in the state have a higher limit game?

[chesspain]

[ QUOTE ]
I live in Daytona beach, Fl and the dog track has a poker room with only $2 -$2 limit games and sometimes a small tournament. The rake is 10% with $5 cap plus toke to dealer. I just do not see any profit there.
Do any of the other card rooms in the state have a higher limit game?

[/ QUOTE ]

The only legal, higher limit games are on the casino boats from Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa/St.Pete.

[vox]

Technically, boats aren't Florida poker, that's poker in international waters. Wow. I can't beleive I just wrote that.

If you care to drive all the way down I-4 to exit #9, the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa spreads $100+$20, $200+$25, $500+35 and $1000+$50 SNG single table tourneys. Blinds are at turbo speed, and go up every 10 hands, but often you can post blinds and fold all the way to the money.

However, it's my theory that the laws for Florida poker are designed to keep the game soley as entertainment, not as a vocation.

Higher limits may be coming soon. Florida poker has been written extensively about here.

[ThreeBeers]

Actually the boats are not in international waters, they are in federal waters. Secondly, Despite some inside information, I doubt very seriously that the laws will change anytime in the near future. It is not up to the Govenor to decide if the Native American tribes will be permitted to have poker that exceeds the permitted limits.

3-Beers

[vox]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually the boats are not in international waters, they are in federal waters.

[/ QUOTE ]
The area that casino ships conduct gaming activity is colloquially called "international waters". Even if the technical nautical or legal term is "federal waters", a scenario which I am not willing to stipulate to, nor do research into, semantics do not change my initial contention that casino ships do not technically operate in the state of Florida. Also, IT WAS A JOKE.

[ QUOTE ]
Secondly, Despite some inside information, I doubt very seriously that the laws will change anytime in the near future. It is not up to the Govenor to decide if the Native American tribes will be permitted to have poker that exceeds the permitted limits.

[/ QUOTE ]

From the National Indian Gaming Commission's web page on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Class III gaming compacts are formed by negotiations with the state and the Tribe. In the event that the state will not negotiate with the Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior can override the state and implement regulations for the gaming.

The Governor, as the chief executive of the state, negotiates with the Tribe or designates a negotiator. The Lakeland Ledger recently reported on the slot issue, referencing the Governor's negotiations with the Seminoles. I've linked to Sun-Sentinel articles talking about the opening of negotiations in other threads.

Jeb Bush has a lot to do with the negotiations - that's why your doubts are well founded. The only way Jeb would let gaming proliferate in Florida, which could prove politically costly, is if Florida got a healthy cut of the money, information suggested in the Poker in Florida thread.

Kindly mind your tone when responding to my posts from now on, please.

[Slacker13]

The gambling laws here are absolutely stupid. Bush is doing everything he can to stop slots and class III gaming yet we already have slots. People are losing just as much on the current machines as they would with slots. The gambling boats are unregulated and untaxed. And I heard Florida was losing millions of tourism dollars every year because people were going to Mississippi and Louisiana for the casinos.

I like Gov Bush, think he has done a great job but his head is up is ass on this subject.

[vox]

The problem is political on two fronts. First, there is a significant portion of the nation that considers gambling a vice on par with prostitution, people who just so happen to be the core of the voters that Jeb hopes will propel him to the presidency. Jeb cannot risk alienating that base without a significant financial gain for the state to rebut the inevitable attack ads that would haunt his next campaign.

Second, on a more local scale, Florida is heralded as the home of Walt Disney World and similar family-friendly vaction options. Tourism is one of Florida's key indutries, and Disney does carry a lot of weight. They built Walt Disney World in the swamps near Orlando because they wanted control over the surrounding areas. A Vegas-class casino one hour down the road falls under one of those things Disney would want to control. In short, the theory among those in power is: while Florida loses tourism dollars to the Gulf Coast casinos, if Florida opened casinos, the loss of family tourism would be devestating.

I'm not saying that's the truth, I'm just saying that's what the people with the power in Florida believe, and are desperately trying to advance in light of a pro-gambling mandate from the people.

[ThreeBeers]

First, I apologize if you inferred from my post that I was “flaming” you. As I am sure you would agree, it is difficult to read “tone” into a post. I should have used more flowery language to ensure that I did not offend the delicate sensibilities of the poker world. Just because a person may disagree with another, it does not necessarily follow that a negative or even nasty tone accompanied the argument. With regard to the proposition that the Governor or even the Secretary of the Interior can negotiate and permit Class III Gaming unilaterally without the authority of the Florida Legislature (or by a State Constituional Amendment) is simply incorrect. In your post, you quoted and ever so generously provided a link to the National Indian Gaming Commission's web page on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The link you provided provides, in part, the following information: “Before a Tribe may lawfully conduct class III gaming, the following conditions must be met: (1) The Particular form of class III gaming that the Tribe wants to conduct must be permitted in the state in which the tribe is located ; (2) The Tribe and the state must have negotiated a compact that has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior, or the Secretary must have approved regulatory procedures; and (3) The Tribe must have adopted a Tribal gaming ordinance that has been approved by the Chairman of the Commission.
Based on the aforementioned, the first hurdle that must be overcome is that the desired form a gaming must be legal in the state. As I am sure you are aware, Section 849 of the Florida Statutes prohibit gambling in the State of Florida with a couple of exceptions (i.e. 849.085 and 849.086). Section 849 would have to be revised in order for the Class III gaming to be legalized on the reservations. The Slot Machine Amendment to the State Constitution is a fine example of changing the law to permit an otherwise prohibited form of gambling. I was simply stating that Gov. Bush is not the only problem to bringing poker to Florida. The people of Florida (via the legislature or a State Constitutional Amendment) must approve it. That was the point of my post. My post was not intended to insult or flame you.

[StevieG]

[ QUOTE ]
there is a significant portion of the nation that considers gambling a vice on par with prostitution, people who just so happen to be the core of the voters that Jeb hopes will propel him to the presidency.

[/ QUOTE ]

For the same reason, Mass. gov. Mitt Romney has reversed his position on slot machines

[Slacker13]

Good Post. I guess what really erks me is that they act as if gambling and casinos dont already exist. The casinos are raking in millions on slot machines. Any problems that the voters of florida think would come from having class III gaming already exist. And the voters to the north who voted against amendment 4 should have their heads examined. It was clearly stated that gaming would only exsit in Dade or Broward or both. They would benfit greatly from money coming into the school system and the so called problems of gambling would be down here in Broward County.

I have a few friends who have lost fortunes at the casino, which is a whole other story, but my point is whats the difference if they are losing at the already existing slots or at a blackjack table. They are pretending that we don't already have gambling. It's nonsensical to me.

Since you seem to know alot about this, do you know how much the casinos pay the state from casino take? Just curious.