**This post was updated with corrected information on May 12**
Ante Up has finished going through the 105-page gambling bill that the Florida Legislature passed on Friday. Here’s a final summary of changes for poker. Ante Up publisher Scott Long is writing a column for the June issue of Ante Up about what these changes might mean for Florida poker. Chime in with your thoughts on the <a href="http://www.anteupmagazine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=781">Ante Up Forum</a>, in a post called "New Florida Poker Laws" under the "Florida Poker Rooms" forum.
The Florida Legislature approved a sweeping gambling bill on May 8 that dictates parameters of gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe and changes a host of rules for parimutuel permit holders. The state and the Seminole Tribe have until Aug. 31 to agree to a compact, and the new law will take effect once the Legislature approves the compact. Here’s what the deal means for Florida poker:
<strong>LIMITS:</strong> No limits on bet sizes or buy-ins for cash games or tournaments, though rooms are free to set their own limits.
<strong>HOURS:</strong> Parimutuel rooms can stay open 18 hours a day Monday-Friday, and 24 hours a day on Saturdays, Sundays and select holidays. The “stacking” loophole that allowed rooms to combine permits to operate 24 hours a day every day has been abolished.
<strong></strong><strong>NEW ROOMS:</strong> Regulations for quarter horse racing have been established, and qualifying permit holders can open a room as soon as their first race is concluded. (Hialeah Park in South Florida is expected to reopen soon as a quarter horse facility with a poker room). Also, qualifying holders of dormant jai-alai permits may convert those permits to greyhound permits and open new poker rooms. (Palm Beach Kennel Club is tentatively planning to do that, while Daytona Beach Kennel Club would also qualify).
