It looks as though the Orlando area will have to continue to wait for a parimutuel poker room as a pair of elections dealt severe blows to the effort.
• Minneola mayor David Yeager, who tried to bring a "Fountainbleau-type" gambling complex to his small town to jump-start the struggling local economy, lost his bid Tuesday for a third term. City council member Pat Kelley unseated Yeager, whose grand plan would’ve included a horse track and poker room. Here’s more on this story in the <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lake-city-elections-20091103,0,840557.story">Orlando Sentinel</a>.
• In the Longwood city commissioners race, two seats could’ve had significant pro-poker ramifications, but those hopes were doused. In District 3, Bob Cortes unseated Mike Holt, who had voted favorably in past discussions of poker expansion in that area. In District 5, challenger Johnny Richardson was no match for incumbent Brian D. Sackett, who has voted against poker expansion in the past. Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club has been trying to open a poker room for years, but the city commissioners have dismissed it in the past, and these results will only hinder any effort to revisit this expansion.
All of these losses come on the heels of Orlando Jai-Alai announcing last week it will close its doors Dec. 27, eliminating another viable parimutuel option for poker in the Orlando area.
