Florida & Colorado Look to Expand Poker

The Florida Senate has approved allowing around the clock poker play on weekends and 18 hour days during the week in the state, according to the Palm Beach Post.  The Senate approved the change in just a few hours as part of a larger pari-mutuel measure, but it hasn't been approved by the House as of yet

The Senate will soon consider expanding what poker rooms are allowed to offer in the way of tournaments as well.  Poker rooms may soon be allowed to host two high stakes televised tournaments each year.  They could also be to host six celebrity tournaments each year.

Members of the state have pointed out the changes are necessary for casinos so they can compete with gaming that is run on the Indian reservations.  The reservations were recently permitted to expand their poker operations while cardsrooms that aren't on reservations are still restricted to 12 hours a day.  In Colorado, Senator Ron Tupa is proposing a constitutional amendment that will eliminate the $5 dollar bet limit on table games in Colorado's casinos.

The senator says that changing the bet limits is one easy area to find additional revenue for the state.  His proposal doesn't suggest a new limit for bets on table games such as Poker and Blackjack. It is said that he is waiting to see what his fellow lawmakers have to say about the limits and where the extra money could go.

His proposal will need to get the approval from two thirds of the members of the state House and Senate before it can make it's way onto the November ballot.  Changing the betting limits could help offset the dip in revenues that casinos saw in March.  Some people are saying that the new smoking ban is responsible for the 15 percent drop in revenue during the month.