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| Florida Casinos |
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Florida has three forms of casino gambling: casino boats, Indian casinos and gaming machines at pari-mutuels in one south Florida county. The casino boats offers gamblers the opportunity to board ships that cruise offshore where casino gambling is legal. From the east coast the boats sail three miles out into the Atlantic Ocean and from the west coast the boats travel nine miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. A variety of boats are in operation ranging from Port Canaveral’s 1,800-passenger, Ambassador II cruise ship all the way down to the yacht-sized SunCruz I casino boat in Key Largo which carries 149 passengers. Generally, you will find that the larger ships have more of a variety of things to do besides the gambling, but the cost will be a little higher because of added port/service charges. Most of the ships that sail from the major ports, such as Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach or Port Canaveral will add port/service charges to the quoted cruise price. Usually, there is also a charge to park your car at the large ports. Most of the smaller boats which don’t dock at the large ports don’t have port/service charges added to their cruise prices. Also, most of the smaller boats offer free parking. You will find that almost all of the ships are constantly running price specials so don’t be surprised if you call and are quoted a price lower than the regular brochure rates listed here. Unless otherwise noted, all Florida casino boats offer: blackjack, craps, roulette, slots and video poker. Some casinos also offer: mini-baccarat (MB), poker (P), pai gow poker (PGP), three-card poker (TCP), Caribbean stud poker (CSP), let it ride (LIR), big 6 wheel (B6) bingo (BG) and sports book (SB). Each casino boat sets its own minimum gambling age: on some boats it’s 21 and on others it’s 18. The minimum drinking age on all boats is 21. Due to security restrictions, you must present a photo ID at all casino boats or you will not be allowed to board. For Florida visitor information call (888) 735-2872 or visit their web site at: www.flusa.com. For information on the Florida Keys or Key West call (800) 352-5397 or visit their web site at: www.fla-keys.com. INDIAN CASINOSFlorida has eight Indian gaming locations. The Seminole Tribe has seven and the eighth is on the Miccosukee Tribe’s reservation. A compact was signed by Florida's Governor in late 2007 that allows the Seminole's to offer traditional Class III slots as well as blackjack and baccarat. The class III machines are now in operation and the games of blackjack and baccarat are expected to be offered beginning mid-June 2008, unless a pending lawsuit filed by the Florida legislature voids the compact. The Miccosukee tribe is not part of the compact and offers only class II video gaming devices that look like slot machines, but are actually bingo games and the spinning reels are for “entertainment purposes only.” No public information is available concerning the payback percentages on gaming devices in Florida's Indian casinos. The other games allowed are: high-stakes bingo, video pull tabs, low-limit poker games (maximum $5 bet, 3 raises per round, no limit to number of rounds) and no-limit poker with a maximum buy-in of $100. Similar poker limits can also be found in many of the state’s pari-mutuel facilities (horse tracks, dog tracks, jai-alai frontons and one harness track). All casinos are open 24 hours (except Brighton and Big Cypress) and all offer bingo except for both Seminole Hard Rock Casinos and the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. The minimum gambling age is 18 at all Indian casinos for bingo or poker and 21 for electronic gaming machines and all other casino games. PARI-MUTUELSIn early 2005 voters in Broward County (home county of Fort Lauderdale) passed a referendum to allow slot machines at four pari-mutuel facilities within that county. The first slot facilities opened in late 2006 and two others followed within six months. The fourth facility, Dania Jai-Alai, is not expected to add slots until late 2009 at the earliest. Florida gaming regulations require a minimum payback of 85% on all gaming machines. From November 15, 2006 through June 30, 2007, the gaming machines at Gulfstream returned 90.50%. From December 28, 2006 through June 30, 2007 the return was 91.13% at Mardi Gras Gaming and from April 14 through June 30, 2007 it was 91.74% at The Isle. Broward’s four pari-mutuel facilities also offer poker games with low stakes similar to the Indian casinos. Admission to all casinos is free and they are allowed to be open a maximum of 16 hours during the week and 24 hours on the weekends. The minimum gambling age is 18 for pari-mutuel betting or poker and 21 for gaming machines. Shown below is a list of all Florida casinos. Click on a name to see a page of detailed information about that particular casino.
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