Senate Bill sb1086

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1086

    By Senator Geller





    31-733-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to cardrooms; amending s.

  3         849.086, F.S.; providing a definition;

  4         authorizing cardroom operators to host

  5         high-stakes poker tournaments at certain

  6         pari-mutuel facilities; providing limitations;

  7         providing an effective date.

  8  

  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

10  

11         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 849.086, Florida

12  Statutes, is amended, present subsections (9) through (17) are

13  renumbered as subsections (10) through (18), respectively, and

14  a new subsection (9) is added to that 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

18  of poker which are played in a nonbanking manner.

19         (b)  "Banking game" means a game in which the house is

20  a participant in the game, taking on players, paying winners,

21  and collecting from losers or in which the cardroom

22  establishes a 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

25  the public is invited to participate in such games and charged

26  a fee for participation by the operator of such facility.

27  Authorized games and cardrooms do not constitute casino gaming

28  operations.

29         (d)  "Cardroom management company" means any individual

30  not an employee of the cardroom operator, any proprietorship,

31  partnership, corporation, or other entity that enters into an

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1086
    31-733-04




 1  agreement with a cardroom operator to manage, operate, or

 2  otherwise control the daily operation of a cardroom.

 3         (e)  "Cardroom distributor" means any business that

 4  distributes cardroom paraphernalia such as card tables,

 5  betting chips, chip holders, drop boxes, banking supplies,

 6  playing cards, card shufflers, and other associated equipment

 7  to authorized cardrooms.

 8         (f)  "Cardroom operator" means a licensed pari-mutuel

 9  permitholder which holds a valid permit and license issued by

10  the division pursuant to chapter 550 and which also holds a

11  valid cardroom license issued by the division pursuant to this

12  section which authorizes such person to operate a cardroom and

13  to conduct authorized games in such cardroom.

14         (g)  "Division" means the Division of Pari-mutuel

15  Wagering of the Department of Business and Professional

16  Regulation.

17         (h)  "Gross receipts" means the total amount of money

18  received by a cardroom from any person for participation in

19  authorized games.

20         (i)  "High stakes poker" means a game of poker without

21  limits on the amount wagered in any game or series of games

22  and without limits on the rounds of betting established in

23  this section.

24         (j)(i)  "House" means the cardroom operator and all

25  employees of the cardroom operator.

26         (k)(j)  "Net proceeds" means the total amount of gross

27  receipts received by a cardroom operator from cardroom

28  operations less direct operating expenses related to cardroom

29  operations, including labor costs, admission taxes only if a

30  separate admission fee is charged for entry to the cardroom

31  facility, gross receipts taxes imposed on cardroom operators

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    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1086
    31-733-04




 1  by this section, the annual cardroom license fees imposed by

 2  this section on each table operated at a cardroom, and

 3  reasonable promotional costs excluding officer and director

 4  compensation, interest on capital debt, legal fees, real

 5  estate taxes, bad debts, contributions or donations, or

 6  overhead and depreciation expenses not directly related to the

 7  operation of the cardrooms.

 8         (l)(k)  "Rake" means a set fee or percentage of the pot

 9  assessed by a cardroom operator for providing the services of

10  a dealer, table, or location for playing the authorized game.

11         (9)  HIGH STAKES POKER TOURNAMENTS.--A cardroom

12  operator may host a high-stakes poker tournament twice a year

13  for 1 week at a pari-mutuel facility authorized to operate

14  cardrooms, during the hours the pari-mutuel facility is open

15  to conduct business. Such tournament may be conducted only

16  once in any 6-month period.

17         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

18  

19            *****************************************

20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Authorizes cardroom operators to host high-stakes poker
      tournaments at certain pari-mutuel facilities.
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