The Seminole Hard Rock in South Florida began offering players Blackjack and other table games in June of this year. With this addition, the Hard Rock became the only land casino in South Florida to offer table games. In April, the Park Sports club was closed and converted into a poker center to make room for blackjack.

Since that time players have been trying their hand at the Blackjack game the amount of players showing up to play poker has decreased. The Seminole Tribe, who runs the casino, does not give out records to the public but they have confirmed a decrease in poker players.
The staff and players have also stated that the numbers are down.

A World Series of Poker Bracelet winner, Fred Goldberg, stated that big tournaments used to see a little over a hundred players but now they are lucky to have two tables full. The Hard Rock has taken measures to try and draw the players back in to the poker room. The casino is now offering higher starting chip stacks and longer periods of blinds.

Mark Levy, a consistent player of the Hard Rock, stated: “In poker, the money’s recirculated. In table games, the house always wins. But you can turn $500 into $2,000 much easier in Blackjack than you can in poker.”

It will be interesting to see if the new incentives at the Hard Rock will bring back the poker customers or if the game of Blackjack will remain the popular choice at the casino.


- 2008-09-15