poker changes coming soon to tampa bay
timI am not a poker aficionado — that title belongs to gentlemen like tbt*’s Scott Long and Chris Cosenza, who have a fantastic poker blog and podcast. I do, however, study poker for a living, and thus it’s with great interest I anticipate the arrival of July 1st. Why?
Governor Crist folded to the Florida Legislature’s raise and allowed a bill (Senate Bill 752, to be exact, read its text here) liberalizing Florida’s poker laws to pass into law, going into effect on the 1st. Among other things, the law:
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Allows poker rooms at horse and dog tracks to be open year-round (though still limited to twelve hours a day)
Raises bets in limit games from $2 to $5
Permits, for the first time, no-limit Texas Hold’em cash games (with a $100 table buy-in)
Allows card rooms to have bad-beat and high hand jackpots
Raises tournament buy-in limits to $1000
The laws have marginal influence on the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Tampa, as their cardroom rules are set by the Seminole Tribe. No changes are planned at the Hard Rock as of now. Tampa Bay Downs may be the biggest winner once July gets here, as their very nice Silks Card Room was forced to be closed from June-December, when the horses weren’t running. They’re set and ready to be open seven days a week.
The increased limits are a pretty big deal, because it changes the nature of poker in Tampa Bay. The status quo is a purely recreational game; starting next week, it becomes competitive. With higher limits, it means bigger losses for the average lousy poker player… and bigger wins for serious local players like Mr. Decker. Will there be drawbacks? Charlie Crist is noncommittal:
“It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. It depends on whether or not they’re things that already exist. [...] I think my approach to it is to see what passes and then have a chance to evaluate it.”
Thanks for the clarification. *rolls eyes*
Tags: entertainment, Florida, state, tampa
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June 25th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[...] Original post by tim [...]
June 25th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Yes, this is why my property is worth mega bucks and why tampa city employees stalk me around, tamper with my car, slash my tires, threaten my loved ones, spray toxins in my car and yard and kill my animals. It’s lovely.
Did you pay attention to how this bill was passed with NO discussion???
under the guise of the property tax HELP?
Florida will never be the same again. They’re building las vegas here and your beloved mayors are handing them the keys.
I don’t care cause I won’t be here but Florida deserved better than Jeb Bush and tampa deserves better than pam and crew. That’s all city council and county commission is.
I’ve said it over and over again. Niemoller. People don’t say a word when they are kicking MY ass over my beloved homestead property, I was the only person who raised my voice when rose ferlita said that central tampa folks had overstayed their welcome and needed to clear the way for HER developers, the homeless population is over 30% higher since pam, still no concern — well, then you should NOT be surprised when finally they arrive at what tears you up.
Did you all really think I started my blog to tell lies and spread innuendo?? LOL.
Working together NO ONE has to suffer at the hands of ‘elected’ thugs.
One more time — even though I say it sweetly I thought people would catch on — following this pattern, buddy johnson should be our next mayor. Hellooooooo. Rumor (and this is not something I can confirm but do with it what you will) running thick has it that pam iorio was in on the 2000 election fix all the while trumpeting how great tampa was doing down at the election board. Then she became mayor.
WHY is it there is never one bad word anywhere about pam, rick baker and crist? Why is that?
Rumor has it that lots of deals were brokered over these election fixes in county buildings.
And, I’ll say it again — tampa, under the fist of pam iorio and thugs has NEVER been a worse place to live.
She’s not just a smiley face, she’s part of the problem and she absolutely does NOT legislate like a democrat. Look around you.
June 25th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I should add, it’s more than a strong rumor but telling all of it would not be what I promised when told.