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designated player games

Judge says no to Gretna track in gambling dispute

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A federal judge has turned down a request by a North Florida race track to alter his ruling allowing the Seminole Tribe of Florida to keep blackjack at its casinos. But the loss turned out to be a win for the track’s own card games. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued his order Wednesday. Gretna Racing in Gadsden County had moved to intervene last week. Its attorneys, David Romanik and Marc Dunbar, had asked Hinkle to remove the part of his ruling they say could make it a “crime” for the track’s…

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Seminole Tribe objects to Gretna track’s intervention in gambling dispute

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The Seminole Tribe of Florida has objected to a request by a North Florida race track to alter a federal judge’s ruling allowing the tribe to keep blackjack at its casinos. Greenberg Traurig attorney Barry Richard, who represents the Tribe, filed his memorandum in opposition to Gretna Racing’s motion to intervene last week, court records show. Its attorneys, David Romanik and Marc Dunbar, had asked Hinkle to remove the part of his ruling they say could make it a “crime” for the track’s cardroom to continue offering…

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Federal judge won’t change mind on blackjack decision

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A federal judge has rejected the state’s request to reconsider his ruling allowing the Seminole Tribe of Florida to keep blackjack at its casinos. In a two-page order, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said the “original opinion correctly analyzes the issues.” Hinkle had ruled that regulators working under Gov. Rick Scott allowed dog and horse tracks to offer card games that mimicked ones that were supposed to be exclusive to tribe-owned casinos for a five-year period. The judge ruled that the Tribe could keep…

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Seminole Tribe objects to any about-face on blackjack ruling

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The Seminole Tribe of Florida is opposing the state’s asking a federal judge to reconsider his decision to let the Tribe keep blackjack at its casinos. The tribe filed a legal memo last week in opposition to the state’s motion. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that regulators working under Gov. Rick Scott allowed dog and horse tracks to offer card games that mimicked ones that were supposed to be exclusive to tribe-owned casinos for a five-year period. Hinkle ruled that…

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State starts enforcing card game decision

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Gambling regulators have begun warning the state’s card rooms to change their games. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has started sending form letters to advise card room operators about a final agency order on designated-player games. Last week, the department adopted an administrative law judge’s findings that those games, similar to poker, were “unauthorized” under state law. That’s because they played too much like “banked card games,” such as blackjack, only allowed to the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Such games…

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Racino executive speaks out on card-room controversy

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The head of a Jacksonville racetrack and card room says the state was unfairly targeting pari-mutuels for running illegal card games, especially when state regulators oversaw the games being set up. Howard Korman, president of Jacksonville Greyhound Racing, which does business as BestBet, spoke at a Senate Regulated Industries Committee meeting on Wednesday. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Tuesday filed administrative complaints against Korman’s operation and six other tracks in Florida. The state is fighting what’s known as “designated-player games”…

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State files gambling complaints against racetracks across Florida

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State gambling regulators this week filed complaints against seven racetracks in Florida, saying they’re operating illegal card games, according to documents obtained through a public records request. The pari-mutuels targeted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates gambling, include: Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach, Magic City Casino in Miami, Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Isle Casino and Pompano Park in Pompano Beach, Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa, and BestBet in…

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