Changes Coming for Florida Poker Players

Real big-bet poker is coming to the Seminole Hard Rock.

The state of Florida has been an American poker hotbed for years, even though the laws for live poker there have always been a little screwy. The limits on the games have been capped for years, and even increases in the betting limits weren’t enough to allow Floridians the chance to play real big-bet cash poker. 

But thanks to a new deal Governor Charlie Crist is set to sign today with the Seminole Indian tribe, all that is set to change. Poker rooms throughout Florida will see increases in the betting limits allowed in their games, and racetrack poker rooms in Dade and Broward counties will be allowed to stay open 24 hours on the weekends and 18 hours on weekdays. By the time the unlucky Floridians in the WSOP Main Event have busted out and are ready to return home from Las Vegas, they’ll be able to play legal no-limit cash poker in their home state for the first time – the deal will go into effect July 1st.

Even though the tax rate on the casinos will drop from 50% to 35%, the state is hoping to earn some $1.3 billion in the first five years of its new 20-year deal with the Seminoles. And while the money was required to be earmarked for education in the past, the state will now be free to free to deposit its gambling tax money directly into the general fund. The new deal should be a k

ickstart for poker in Florida, where it is already one of the most popular games on offer at casinos.