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The WPT Jacksonville 2011 has become the largest poker tournament ever held in the state of Florida not hosted at a casino with a generated prize pool of 393 players, a few shorter than that seen at last week’s Punta Cana Poker Classic in the Dominican Republic.
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The big turn out most likely has everything to do with the laws changing in Florida as they apply to poker tournaments.
I've discussed the boom in Florida poker before. When the laws changed last year, it really expanded a market for poker tournaments that existed, but failed to approach its potential due to previous legislation. Think of Florida's live poker scene as a nation that gets online poker legalized and regulated years after the rest of the world (hint to Congress). The potential is there; all it would need to expand is a green light. Florida's old rules had maximums on buy-ins and what casinos could offer to their patrons. The "Big Games" in Florida were all held privately because let's face it, hoping to turn your $100 max-buy in into six figures at a cash game doesn't happen too often.
The laws changed allowing for big buy-in events, and those who waited in the state for something like this to happen, rejoiced. The poker market began to boom and as a complete no-brainer, the major tours followed suit and made their entries into the region. Every tour that has come through Florida thus far has seen a better-than-average turnout and there's no reason why WPT Jacksonville would be any different.
With players coming from all over Florida and surrounding states, the economy in Jacksonville is going to benefit this week, yet another reason why online poker should be legalized at the federal level.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
