| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to cardrooms; amending s. 849.086, F.S.; |
| 3 | providing definitions; authorizing cardroom operators to |
| 4 | host high-stakes poker tournaments and high-stakes |
| 5 | dominoes tournaments at certain pari-mutuel facilities; |
| 6 | providing limitations; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 849.086, Florida |
| 11 | Statutes, is amended, present subsections (9) through (17) of |
| 12 | that section are redesignated as subsections (11) through (19), |
| 13 | respectively, and new subsections (9) and (10) are added to that |
| 14 | section, to read: |
| 15 | 849.086 Cardrooms authorized.-- |
| 16 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section: |
| 17 | (a) "Authorized game" means a game or series of games of |
| 18 | poker which are played in a nonbanking manner. |
| 19 | (b) "Banking game" means a game in which the house is a |
| 20 | participant in the game, taking on players, paying winners, and |
| 21 | collecting from losers or in which the cardroom establishes a |
| 22 | bank against which participants play. |
| 23 | (c) "Cardroom" means a facility where authorized card |
| 24 | games are played for money or anything of value and to which the |
| 25 | public is invited to participate in such games and charged a fee |
| 26 | for participation by the operator of such facility. Authorized |
| 27 | games and cardrooms do not constitute casino gaming operations. |
| 28 | (d) "Cardroom management company" means any individual not |
| 29 | an employee of the cardroom operator, any proprietorship, |
| 30 | partnership, corporation, or other entity that enters into an |
| 31 | agreement with a cardroom operator to manage, operate, or |
| 32 | otherwise control the daily operation of a cardroom. |
| 33 | (e) "Cardroom distributor" means any business that |
| 34 | distributes cardroom paraphernalia such as card tables, betting |
| 35 | chips, chip holders, drop boxes, banking supplies, playing |
| 36 | cards, card shufflers, and other associated equipment to |
| 37 | authorized cardrooms. |
| 38 | (f) "Cardroom operator" means a licensed pari-mutuel |
| 39 | permitholder which holds a valid permit and license issued by |
| 40 | the division pursuant to chapter 550 and which also holds a |
| 41 | valid cardroom license issued by the division pursuant to this |
| 42 | section which authorizes such person to operate a cardroom and |
| 43 | to conduct authorized games in such cardroom. |
| 44 | (g) "Division" means the Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering |
| 45 | of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. |
| 46 | (h) "Dominoes" means flat rectangular blocks the faces of |
| 47 | which are divided into two equal parts that are blank or include |
| 48 | from one to six dots arranged in a pattern. |
| 49 | (i) "High-stakes dominoes" means a game of dominoes which |
| 50 | is played using a set of 28 dominoes and without limits on the |
| 51 | amount wagered in any game or series of games or without limits |
| 52 | on the rounds of betting. |
| 53 | (j)(h) "Gross receipts" means the total amount of money |
| 54 | received by a cardroom from any person for participation in |
| 55 | authorized games. |
| 56 | (k) "High-stakes poker" means a game of poker which is |
| 57 | played without limits on the amount wagered in any game or |
| 58 | series of games or without limits on the rounds of betting |
| 59 | established in this section. |
| 60 | (l)(i) "House" means the cardroom operator and all |
| 61 | employees of the cardroom operator. |
| 62 | (m)(j) "Net proceeds" means the total amount of gross |
| 63 | receipts received by a cardroom operator from cardroom |
| 64 | operations less direct operating expenses related to cardroom |
| 65 | operations, including labor costs, admission taxes only if a |
| 66 | separate admission fee is charged for entry to the cardroom |
| 67 | facility, gross receipts taxes imposed on cardroom operators by |
| 68 | this section, the annual cardroom license fees imposed by this |
| 69 | section on each table operated at a cardroom, and reasonable |
| 70 | promotional costs excluding officer and director compensation, |
| 71 | interest on capital debt, legal fees, real estate taxes, bad |
| 72 | debts, contributions or donations, or overhead and depreciation |
| 73 | expenses not directly related to the operation of the cardrooms. |
| 74 | (n)(k) "Rake" means a set fee or percentage of the pot |
| 75 | assessed by a cardroom operator for providing the services of a |
| 76 | dealer, table, or location for playing the authorized game. |
| 77 | (9) HIGH-STAKES POKER TOURNAMENTS.--A cardroom operator |
| 78 | may host a high-stakes poker tournament twice each year for 1 |
| 79 | week at a pari-mutuel facility that is authorized to operate |
| 80 | cardrooms during the hours that the pari-mutuel facility is open |
| 81 | to conduct business. Such a tournament may be conducted only |
| 82 | once in any 6-month period. |
| 83 | (10) HIGH-STAKES DOMINOES TOURNAMENTS.--A cardroom |
| 84 | operator may host a high-stakes dominoes tournament twice each |
| 85 | year for 1 week at a pari-mutuel facility that is authorized to |
| 86 | operate cardrooms during the hours that the pari-mutuel facility |
| 87 | is open to conduct business. Such a tournament may be conducted |
| 88 | only once in any 6-month period. |
| 89 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |