Florida Gambling

I'm not sure if this is ultimately good or not for us in Florida but selfishly I would be happy to play live craps when I felt the urge or hopefully find a live blackjack 3:2 outside of Hardrock.

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/18281-florida-could-shake-up-its-gambling-industry

Quote: bahdbwoy

I'm not sure if this is ultimately good or not for us in Florida but selfishly I would be happy to play live craps when I felt the urge or hopefully find a live blackjack 3:2 outside of Hardrock.

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/18281-florida-could-shake-up-its-gambling-industry

I read the article.
Not going to happen.
Seminole tribe has a lock on gambling in this area.
The most lucrative casino they own is my local Seminole hard Rock Tampa.
Not another casino around for hundreds of miles.
They have no competition here.
They are fine with that. They don't want competition.
The paid off politicians are also fine with that.

Quote: terapined

They have no competition here.
They are fine with that. They don't want competition.
The paid off politicians are also fine with that.

That is pretty much it.
Seminoles say "our bankers" want exclusivity, we don't....but they do want it.
Seminoles know cash desperate politicians will take the Seminoles money before trusting Genting or The Venetian.
Everyone knows Miami Dade will be the first entry point, probably involving a re-invigorated Hialeha Race Track.
Everyone knows there are two other "prime areas".
Everyone knows that some business men are campaigning for non prime areas, such as Ft. Myers which is only 20 minutes from an existing but smaller Seminole casino. Everyone knows they don't stand a chance; they just want to be first in line for when as and if it ever happens.

Gambling in Florida will be (yawn) exactly what it was last year: profitable for the Seminoles beyond belief and profitable enough for the politicians to assure the the only other ones who profit from it are the lobbyists.

Honestly, if you're not getting on the Victory out of Port Canaveral, you're missing out. 3:2 blackjack all tables, $5-10 minimums all but 1 "high roller" at $25, no shuffle machines, $5 real craps 3-4-5x odds, (Doc, I can't remember, don't they have the Firebet?) real roulette, mini-bacc, several carnival games (I like UTH; they have 2 $5 tables now), 32 tables plus electronic craps and roulette if you prefer those to live. The only thing they don't deal is PGP among games I like, and all games are hand-dealt/shuffled. Old-timey VP, many machines are $.05, many others are $.25. Some new slots, some 10+ years old, about 800 machines total. All Class III.

Comp offers are slightly stingy but ok; they refresh weekly. Comp rate for table games better than most, can be spent on food/boarding/gifts. Food is excellent, pretty barmaids, full bar service at the tables, live music, good sportsbook/racebook. Satellite TV on board for games; multiscreen both sportsbook and main pit. $10 boarding fee waived for regulars/"Ocean Club" level which is very low.

They're doing so well, they've opened a smaller though full-featured boat out of Jacksonville about 3 months ago. I hear both are doing fine.

I have been on twice when I had to goto Orlando for business.

The smoke is killer but I deal with it. if it was half as close to me I would go often.

Too bad genting has pulled the nightly to nowhere. If I understood correctly they would have to pay the crew US min wage on those and they were not going to do it.

Quote: bahdbwoy

I have been on twice when I had to goto Orlando for business.

The smoke is killer but I deal with it. if it was half as close to me I would go often.

Too bad genting has pulled the nightly to nowhere. If I understood correctly they would have to pay the crew US min wage on those and they were not going to do it.

Not sure what the issue was there. Victory pays US min wage and makes money. Could be all the rest of the regs for sailing under US flag. Most cruise ships sail under other flags, many Bahamas; don't know why Genting couldn't, except perhaps they have to make foreign port each trip to avoid being REQUIRED to be US flag.

I do know the Victory gets inspected a lot. So far, so good. But there is an anti-gambling-ship faction that makes sure they get hassled often.

Its the same as The Venetian in Las Vegas: they pay their Housekeepers the highest wages in town and are non-union, yet they do fine.

People take a look at the Jones Act and say register our ship in some more "friendly" jurisdiction wherein we can hire a crew on a per voyage basis and pay them peanuts and if they are sick or injured we dump them ashore and say "tough luck".

Yes, it takes more effort to find an English speaking crew and more money to maintain a boat to the higher crew, lifeboat and maintenance standards of US laws. Yes, their insurance costs are higher. That is why the crews are attentive to their duties and loyal to their employer.

I liked the Victory: the boxman called out "Hey, Fleastiff" to me.

MIAMI casinos.

Commissioners voted six to zero to ban all forms of casinos in Miami, FL.

This is a preliminary vote on two local ordinances and full details can be found in the Miami Herald.

It may be a tactical move to get better terms, I don't know or it may be a real concern of the commissioners.

Seminole Coconut Beach offering 'win a seat' in the Guaranteed Million Dollar Poker Event. Feb 8th.

I don't play poker so I don't know what is up with this but I sure like to see 'guaranteed one million dollars' in those ads.