An administrative law judge in Florida ruled earlier this week that one of the top destinations in Florida for poker tournaments, bestbet Jacksonville, has been violating state laws in running certain games on their floor.

Mid States Poker Tour Schedule

The case was a challenge by the Jacksonville Kennel Club, the owners of bestbet Jacksonville, and was heard by Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Van Wyk. The original law designated that pari-mutuel operators – of which bestbet Jacksonville would fall under – could not operate games that are “banked,” or which feature the house playing against the players. Those types of games, most often blackjack, three card poker and other table games, are the purveyance of the Seminole Indians of Florida and their properties located around the Sunshine State.

To get around this law, bestbet Jacksonville offered a variant of three-card poker that, instead of having the house bank the game, saw a “designated player” used. That “designated player” would then play against the others in the game and take the position that the house would normally be put in. According to original complaints filed, however, bestbet Jacksonville allegedly took the actions a step further.

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In the case of the Florida card room, which generates almost $1 million per month in action, they took the steps of hiring a third-party person to take the seat in the “designated player” box and were provided with chips that were handed out to other players. There is some question as to whether these third party players actually played any of the games they were sitting in on (and hence complying the law) or were just there to man the chip stack and not play (a violation). According toJacksonville Business Journal writer Dara Kam, the complaints mentioned this factor, with a lawyer from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, William Hall, stating on June 1, “All the designated player does is sit next to the chips (and doesn’t play)…can that person legitimately be called a player?”

MSPT‏Verified account @msptpoker 10h10 hours ago. Matthew Sesso leads final 21 players as Day 2 of the MSPT Mid-Season Championship at@VenetianPoker comes to a close. Mid-States Poker Tour. The Mid-States Poker Tour began as the Minnesota State Poker Tour in 2009. After a rebrand to the current form, the tour has grown to offer several main events for amateur and regional players around the United States. MSPT deliberately keeps buy-ins for its main events controlled.

Apparently it was enough for Judge Van Wyk to make a decision on the case. In a 54-page decision, Van Wyk found that the bestbet Jacksonville “designated player” game was in violation of the state’s gaming codes. “Given the strict statutory prohibition against gambling, the intricate regulatory scheme imposed and the narrow carve out for card rooms, the games cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the current manner,” the judge wrote. “(The card room statute) is that authorized games are not casino gaming because the participants play against each other. As currently operated, the designated player is a player in name only.”

In making her decision, Van Wyk handed down a $4500 fine to bestbet Jacksonville (along with the order to cease the games). It is expected that attorneys for the card room will file an appeal and it is not known whether bestbet Jacksonville will quit spreading the “designated player” games until the final decision is rendered.

The case has become important because of the ongoing fight between the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe that had exclusivity over “house banked” gaming in the state. The previous deal between the parties expired in December 2015 and, despite negotiations between the two entities, no new compact has emerged that passed muster in the Florida Legislature. If a deal cannot be reached, the state of Florida looks to lose approximately $3 billion in Seminole gaming revenues over a five-year period.

In just a few years, bestbet Jacksonville has become one of the most popular stops for many of the tournament poker circuits that traipse across the United States. As host for stops on the World Poker Tour, the Mid-States Poker Tour, the CardPlayer Poker Tour and other smaller circuits (not to mention their own in-house events), bestbet Jacksonville challenges some of the other operations in the state such as the Seminole Hard Rock locations and dog and horse racing tracks located around the state.

Contents

1 Heartland Poker Tour
2 Mid-States Poker Tour

In Part I that we published last month, we compared the offerings for players in the mid-states who wanted to play the big name mid-major tours as we dove into the World Series of Poker Circuit and WPT Deepstacks. In Part 2, we’ll talk about the regional offerings which also provide an excellent experience for players.

Heartland Poker Tour

The Heartland Poker Tour has been roaming middle America since 2005. The brainchild of Greg Lang and Todd Anderson, much of the tour’s emphasis is on its televising of tournaments and syndication of its shows.

The focus on the mid-states has paid off. HPT now produces 17 tournaments a year, mostly through regional casino company Ameristar.

HPT tournaments are not meant to break the bank for players. Most buy-ins for the main events of each stop hover around $1,500.

Above all else, Heartland Poker Tour is for the average player. As such, the fields for these events will likely be friendly and favorable.

The Best HPT Event: $2500 HPT Championship at Ameristar St. Charles – St. Charles, MO

Of the remaining tournaments this year, this one sticks out above the rest. For one thing, its $2,500 buy-in fittingly makes the HPT Championship a richer event than the others.

A bigger buy-in usually means bigger prize pools. Last year’s winner won just under $133,000 after outlasting 406 other players. https://newsummer.amebaownd.com/posts/22812452.

There will also be three Day 1 flights for this event. Players will have three opportunities to find the right cards, and some will donate a few buy-ins along the way, further increasing the payouts for everyone.

The final table of this tournament will be streamed on Twitch.

The structure for this tournament is terrific, too. Players begin with a whopping 30,000 in tournament chips. Blind levels are also 60 minutes from the very first hand and stay that way until play whittles out the final two players. This structure makes the event extremely player friendly.

Don’t be frightened by the rake

$2331 of each player’s buy-in will contribute to the prize pool. The remaining $269 will stay with HPT and the casino.

That amount of rake puts the percentage slightly above 10%. Most major tournaments take at least this much money for themselves. However, for a regional tournament, this pull seems a bit on the high side.

Nevertheless, this tournament is centrally located in St. Charles, Missouri – a suburb of St. Louis. As such, players will have an easier time making it to this event than one along the coasts or in Nevada. This location typically means a bigger field and bigger prizes.

The main event kicks off on December 8th of this year. HPT is not a place for killers and sharks – and there’s no reason that next year’s winner couldn’t be you.

Other Upcoming HPT Locations

Tournament/Casino Name	Location	Date
Daytona Beach Racing and Card Club	Daytona Beach, FL	October 18 – October 30, 2017
The Meadows Casino	Pittsburgh, PA	October 26 – November 6, 2017

Mid State Poker Tour Jacksonville