Parimutuels hang on to games state says are illegal
The state has told four South Florida racetrack casinos that their new poker games are illegal, but the operators are refusing to fold.
The games are Ultimate Texas Hold ’em, Three-Card Poker, Two-Card Poker and One-Card Poker. The state ruled more than a year ago that they all were classified as poker, so Florida card rooms began offering them, including Magic City Casino, Gulfstream Park, the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach and the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
The state reversed course on Jan. 26, and ordered card-room representatives to appear before an administrative judge.
But like blackjack at Seminole casinos, which the state has filed suit to have removed, the poker games continue. Bets are as low as $5 and players can quickly build up a bankroll. For example, a pair of red aces in Two-Card Poker pays 20 to 1.
Court dates are pending.
SUPER BOWL PROMOTIONS
There’s a variety of Super Bowl events on Sunday at casinos for those folks who won’t be watching with friends or family:
▪ Casino Miami gives away a Ford Escape at 11 p.m. Free slot play drawings begin at 2 p.m. and run hourly until the grand prize drawing.
▪ Univision radio host Enrique Santos from Mix 98.3 FM hosts a watch part at Hialeah Park’s Champions Simulcast Center. Tickets are given away through his show.
▪ Seminole Classic Casino gives away $500 in cash every 30 minutes from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on game day. Players have been earning entries into the drawing since Monday.
▪ Mardi Gras Casino will award $500 to a prognosticator, but it’ll take a day. For each 15 slot points, patrons can enter the team name — Denver Broncos or Carolina Panthers — they think will win Sunday. At 7 p.m. Monday, the casino draws one name for $500. One person’s entry from the losing team’s barrel gets $100 in free play.
▪ Gulfstream Park touts Frankey’s Sports Bar, featuring meats raised with no hormones or antibiotics and named after Gulfstream owner Frank Stronach. For $49 (plus tax and tip), diners get unlimited beef nachos, pizza, organic chicken wings, beef sliders, penne Bolognese, Frankey’s beef bowl and desserts. Drinks are extra. The offer runs from 5 p.m. Sunday until the start of the fourth quarter.
ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL
The Mavericks highlight an 18-hour country music marathon on Saturday at Magic City Casino. The event, called the Shore Leave Showdown, starts at 11 a.m. and has acts sprinkled across three stages.
Proceeds will go to a fund for the frontman for the band The Supersuckers, Eddie Spaghetti, who was diagnosed with cancer last year.
Why so many country acts in one place? Well, they’re the focus of the Outlaw Country Cruise sailing out of Miami on Sunday.
The event advertises an after-party that lasts until 4:30 a.m. inside the casino’s Stage 305, so here’s hoping the performers have support staff to wake them up later in the day to make it onto the cruise ship. Tickets range from $128 to $238.
CALDER: DECIDE YOUR RIDE
One small problem with casino car giveaways, is the vehicles don’t match the winners. An elderly person wins an SUV. A family man wins a sports car.
Calder Casino has a workaround, with a two-month promotion called Decide Your Ride. Between now and March 26, slot players can accumulate drawing entries, and the winner gets a choice of a car, truck or SUV, specifically a Buick Verano, Buick Encore or GMC Canyon.
Calder patrons can earn an entry for the drawing every Thursday through Saturday with every 10 slot points. By playing multiple days, players can increase their entry multiplier. A second day of qualifying earns double entries, etc.
Meanwhile, each Saturday leading up to the drawing, winners will be drawn from 7-10 p.m. for a chance to win up to $1,000 free play, and one person will be picked weekly as a finalist for the March 26 drawing.
Get daily gambling news at SouthFloridaGambling.com.
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Parimutuels hang on to games state says are illegal."