This is a tread for the somewhat forgotten triangle of Central Florida poker rooms. Post here for input on cash games, tournaments, staff, drink service, and whatever else you have to say on these local poker rooms.

While these rooms aren't destinations for poker players abroad, they do provide a good place to play for area regulars and people visiting retired relatives in the area.

I'm looking forward to seeing some updates and input here!

I used to just play at THR but I started playing tourneys at Daytona. I live in South Orlando and I have been meaning to head to Melbourne for a few sessions or tourneys.

Any thoughts of advice concerning that room?

I'm staying in Orlando to do the Disney scene with a group of families and was wondering besides Seminole Hard rock are there any homegames or dogtrack type rooms to play?

What stakes do you play?

Partially depends on where you are staying in Orlando, I'm guessing you are staying on the west side of Orlando bc of Disney, if so Tampa Hard Rock is by far your best option but here are some others:

Daytona Beach Kennel Club to the East - http://www.daytonagreyhound.com/poker/

Jacksonville Best Bet to the North (3 separate rooms run by same company, the new one on Monument Rd. is the only one you want to play in) - http://www.bestbetjax.com/

The immediate Tampa area has 3 other rooms besides Hard Rock (there is also a room in Sarasota called One-Eyed Jacks but it is S. of Tampa and IMO not really worth traveling to from Orlando):

Lucky's at Tampa Greyhound (kind of a dumpy room but some really good PLO action) - http://www.tampadogs.com/

Derby Lane (in St. Petersburg) - http://www.derbylanepoker.com/

The Silks at Tampa Bay Downs - http://www.tampabaydowns.com/poker.aspx

Ocala Jai Alai to the North might be the closest of all depending on where you are in the Orlando area.

Just go to the Tampa Hard Rock. It's easiest for you to get to with most games.

Hard Rock Tampa > Daytona Beach Kennel Club

I played at Hard Rock Tampa when on holiday in September.

Very easy to find from Orlando area and game/dealers/room etc; were all decent.

Waitress in the lounge section of the steak house was absolutely stunning too.

I'm just south of Orlando so it's easier for me to get to Tampa but its still about an hour

From Orlando, it's an hour no matter what direction you go.

Tampa/St. Pete's the move. Hit Hard Rock for cash, Derby Lane for tournaments. The other pari's mentioned are probably ok during peak hours n weekends, but are generally reg-central during off-peak.

I haven't been back here in awhile, sorry to just see this.

I haven't been to Melbourne in nearly two years, but they always seem to be fairly busy. It is a pretty big room with a pretty active tournament schedule. I don't think there are any really big games there, but there are lots of 1-2 and 2-5 NLHE games running . . . at least back then.

Did you ever head down there? The room pulls from a decent population base, although it is not terribly wealthy.

Im headin to orlando as well for disney. Will b during the week. Is the closest room hard rock tampa? I dont think we r renting a car so is there anything IN orlando that will work(cabs, shuttles, walk)?

No poker in Orlando. I know that Hard Rock runs shuttles but don't know the schedule. See if your hotel can hook you up with that service.

Ty sir

Why there is no poker in the Orlando metro area mystifies me. Tons of tourists, large metro area, seems like an easy place to rake in the cash, literally. Anyone know why this is the case?

Hard Rock is your best bet, then Daytona. If you are at Disney then Hard Rock will be easier to get to as you are already on that side of Orlando.

I'm mystified that you're mystified. Why would Disney's powers that be want anyone else around to make $? Alternatively, why would they want to tarnish their completely family-friendly reputation with something like gambling that some people consider morally objectionable?

Unfortunately, i have to agree. This logic makes sense when you put it this way. Dam disney

I like Daytona, but don't know if you can get there without a car.
You could try calling them to find out.

As for why Orlando doesn't have poker, yes Disney, but also church people.
A dog track there wanted to add poker, like Daytona's did, but it was blocked by the church across the street.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...club-and-poker

Why can't they open up a family friendly track/poker room where kids learn to bet on cartoon dogs running around the track while you can play heads up PLO with Mickey Mouse in the high limit room?

If Disney is willing to open up nightclubs in Downtown Disney I can't see why they don't get a hand in the poker pie. When it comes down to it, it's about making money where money is to be made.

Money in the poker pie? Is this a level of some sort?

A 40 table poker room will generate roughly $75K in revenue per day if it's run well and at near capacity at all times. In all likelihood, the Magic Kingdom generates that much money every minute or two. If 1,000 people decide not to visit the Magic Kingdom because they object to Disney being in the gambling business then poker is a bad investment.

Even if nobody has moral objections to the Disney poker room that you envision, a single visitor to a Disney Park is worth ~$150 between admission, food, and souvenirs. Why would you want to drive that person away from the park and into a low revenue poker room?

Lastly, nobody has bothered to mention that poker is only allowed on sovereign Indian land or on previously existing parimutuels (dog/horse tracks and jai-alai frontons). Orlando has none of these. New parimutuel licenses are not awarded. Only licenses from before ~1990 are grandfathered in and are allowed to operate poker rooms. Furthermore, only Indian casinos and parimutuels in South Florida (Dade and Broward) are allowed to operate slot machines. This is why the tracks in Fort Myers, Daytona, Jacksonville, etc. have poker only, whereas the tracks in the Miami area can install slots.

It's a simple solution for everybody. If you want to have a family friendly vacation with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, go to Orlando. If you need to scratch your poker itch, just drive an extra 90 minutes East or West to where they actually have poker rooms.

It was more a joke than a level, I am sure Disney calculated out the value of finding a tribe to work with on a gambling operation and its value versus the value of having someone at the park. If it would have made sense it would have been done already.

As far as the slot rules go, Lee County (Ft. Myers) voted in slots at the track this past election, it was on the ballot. Basically it makes for even less traffic at Immokalee, which is already downsizing. They only have 6 poker tables left, and if there are 2 tables of 1-2 going its a lively night. It kind of sucks because the chairs and service there are really nice and most of the dealers are pretty cool guys/gals.

Ok, let's set something straight: It's an over-simplification to say "It's Disney's fault, those family-oriented, overly-wholesome bastards!"

Orlando is in Orange County. Disney's in Osceola County, which abuts Orange to the south. The Orlando-area pari's are in Semiole County, which abuts Orange to the north. The Seminole County government has the right to prevent expansion of gambling at the Seminole Greyhound and Orlando Jai Alai (or whatever its called these days), which they've exercised for sure. Disney might throw an occasional bone Seminole's way, but they're not as influential as might be guessed.

The Southern Baptists actually have more to do with it as they apparently own land that the Seminole Greyhound uses for parking or something.

A rumor I'd heard somewhere at some point was that Daytona KC had plans to open a satellite poker room in Orange City, which is just north of Seminole (southern Volusia) and allot closer to Orlando than DBKC. I saw that they'd gotten permission from the state to do it a year or 2 ago, but no idea where they're at with it.