Today, many Florida gambling venues offer a winning combination of gaming activities. You could watch the dogs at a nearby track while placing a bet on a simulcast thoroughbred race in Maryland and dropping a few quarters into a slot machine. Many larger facilities also have hotels, retail shops and restaurants, with live
music, concerts and other special events.
The state of Florida features three forms of casino gambling: casino boats, Indian casinos and gaming machines at pari-mutuels in a couple of southern counties. Casino boats cruise offshore into the Gulf f Mexico on the west coast and into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast where casino gambling is legal. Most offer blackjack, craps, roulette, slots and video poker while others also offer mini-baccarat, poker, pai gow poker, three-card poker, Caribbean stud poker, let it ride, big 6 wheel, bingo and sports book.
There are eight Indian gaming locations; the Seminole tribe owns seven and the Miccosukee tribe has one. The Seminoles feature traditional Class III gaming machines and are also allowed to offer blackjack, baccarat, mini-baccarat, three card poker, let it ride and pai gow poker. However, the Miccosukee tribe can only offer Class II gaming machines, which look like slot machines but are actually bingo games. The spinning reels are for “entertainment purposes only.” Other games allowed in all Indian casinos include high-stakes bingo, video pulltabs and poker.
Broward and Miami-Dade allow slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities within their counties where poker is also offered. Here’s a closer look at some of the state’s leading gambling venues.
SOUTHEAST
Southeast Florida has the widest collection of gaming venues with everything from largescale casinos featuring table games, poker and slot machines, to horse racing, dog tracks, jaialai and offshore gambling cruises. Resorts World Bimini offers Bimini SuperFast, a cruise ship, which sails to Resorts World Bimini Casino in the Bahamas on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from PortMiami.
Once in international waters, passengers can play roulette, craps, baccarat, blackjack, slots and make sports bets at the on-board casinos. In Bimini, passengers can continue their gambling spree at the Resorts World Bimini Casino. A new option for gamblers is Balearia Bahamas Express, which carries guests on daily
trips from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. You can play on-board slot machines and spend the rest of the day in Freeport’s casinos. An exciting option is the Island Breeze Casino Palm Beach, a 500-passenger gaming ship sailing twice daily from the Port of Palm Beach. This offshore gaming venue features traditional casino games, poker tables and slots, as well as dining and live entertainment.
Back on terra firma, Magic City Casino in Miami features Las Vegas-style games, including roulette wheels, craps tables and 800 slot machines. There’s also a poker room, live greyhound racing and simulcast wagering. Casino Miami offers 1,000 slots, a poker room, dominoes and live entertainment, as The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
GAMBLING
Well as live jai-alai. To the west off US 41 (Tamiami Trail), the Miccosukee Casino offers 24-hour gambling, including 1,900 gaming machines, poker tables and high-stakes bingo. Calder Casino & Race Course in Miami Gardens offers 1,200 slot machines, thoroughbred horse racing and year-round simulcast
action, as well as plenty of dining options, all on one smoke-free floor. Hialeah Park Racing & Casino—known as “The World’s Most Beautiful Race Course”—has slot machines and poker in addition to live horse racing from late December to early March.
Considered one of the most important venues for horse racing in America since 1939, Gulfstream Racing and Casino Park in Hallandale Beach features the world’s top thoroughbred contenders. In addition to its
traditional January through April season, Gulfstream recently added summer thoroughbred racing. Gulfstream also features 850 slots, electronic table games and high-stakes poker.
Mardi Gras Casino in Hallandale Beach opened its doors in 1934 as the Hollywood Kennel Club. Today, this landmark property offers 1,100 slot machines, the Big Easy Poker Room, and simulcast greyhound, harness and thoroughbred races. Mardi Gras Casino is home to four stakes races—the Hollywood Futurity, Hollywood World Classic, Joe Ryan Jr. Memorial and the Hollywoodian. Frequented by celebrities, musicians and fans from around the world, the AAA Four Diamond-awarded Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood is South Florida’s ultimate destination for fun and entertainment.
Beyond its 500 stylish and spacious guest rooms, play at more than 90 table games and more than 2,200 of the most popular slots, as well as top tournament poker action in the award-winning Poker Room. Additionally, the thrills of blackjack, baccarat and more deliver an amplified, multi-sensory player experience
in the new High Limit Tables room. Nearby, the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood boasts more than 1,000 slot machines, 10 poker tables, and high stakes and “lightning” bingo action. To the north, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek features more than 2,300 Vegas-style and bingo-style slot machines, along with 65 live tables including blackjack and baccarat. To the west, Seminole Casino Big Cypress offers a “no frills” casino experience at Billie Swamp Safari off I-75 (Alligator Alley).
Dania Casino & Jai Alai may close for several months to complete a major renovation to its two-story facility, which has 550 slot machines, a poker room, simulcast wagering and live jai-alai games. If that occurs, the casino will reopen in late 2015. The Isle Casino Racing in Pompano Beach features 1,500 slots, 38 live-action poker tables, six restaurants, live harness racing and live entertainment seven days a week—all in a smoke-free environment. The Isle features new gaming technology where you can play games such as roulette, craps and Sic-bo with a real wheel and real dice, but no dealer. The Isle also offers simulcast wagering and hosts four major poker tournaments throughout the year.
In West Palm Beach, there’s never a dull moment at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a non-smoking venue, which features live greyhound racing and simulcast horse, harness and jai-alai on more than 600 color screens, as well as a plush, newly expanded 64-table poker room (one of the largest in Florida), many special events and plenty of free parking. The Club also offers a wide range of dining options, including the Paddock Room, the Terrace estaurant, the Trophy Room, the Deli and numerous concession stands.
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