JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
I don't get this at all.
https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/03/the-villages-poker-game-feuds-45519.htm
https://www.pokernews.com/news/2024/03/the-villages-poker-game-feuds-45519.htm
Why would a retirement community in Florida think banning poker is a good idea? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter JustinInMN
- Start date
4SUMERZ
Flush
Isn't Florida banning most things lately?
I am not a Villages resident, but I have made several visits there and have enjoyed the poker tournaments. And I am considering living there part time or full-time when I retire, so I am watching the situation closely.
I believe for the moment poker for cash prizes is banned at just one Rec Center - Laurel Manor. The supposed reason for this ban is an altercation occurred at one of the games where the police had to be called. The Executive Director of Recreation and Parks, John Rohan, decided that the best way to respond to this situation was to ban poker for cash prizes at the location where it occurred. The organizers were told that paying out in gift cards would be acceptable. At first glance, this makes no sense to me, but I believe there is a larger theme at play.
Approximately a decade ago, John Rohan attempted to shut down poker for money at all of the Villages recreation facilities. A group of poker playing residents who had been lawyers took action (exactly what they did, I do not know) against this attempt and the problem went away. As was told to me by a former Villages resident, John has a real issue with gambling.
Strictly speaking, poker in the Villages does not comply with Florida laws. Florida has some of the most restrictive gambling laws in the country. The maximum someone legally can win in any game is $10. Clearly very few people are going to be interested in playing in a tournament where the most they can win is $10.
There is also a horse racetrack / card casino just outside of the villages, called Oxford Downs. They would certainly benefit if poker were shut down in the Villages, so I would not be surprised to find their influence is having some impact on the current situation.
I believe for the moment poker for cash prizes is banned at just one Rec Center - Laurel Manor. The supposed reason for this ban is an altercation occurred at one of the games where the police had to be called. The Executive Director of Recreation and Parks, John Rohan, decided that the best way to respond to this situation was to ban poker for cash prizes at the location where it occurred. The organizers were told that paying out in gift cards would be acceptable. At first glance, this makes no sense to me, but I believe there is a larger theme at play.
Approximately a decade ago, John Rohan attempted to shut down poker for money at all of the Villages recreation facilities. A group of poker playing residents who had been lawyers took action (exactly what they did, I do not know) against this attempt and the problem went away. As was told to me by a former Villages resident, John has a real issue with gambling.
Strictly speaking, poker in the Villages does not comply with Florida laws. Florida has some of the most restrictive gambling laws in the country. The maximum someone legally can win in any game is $10. Clearly very few people are going to be interested in playing in a tournament where the most they can win is $10.
There is also a horse racetrack / card casino just outside of the villages, called Oxford Downs. They would certainly benefit if poker were shut down in the Villages, so I would not be surprised to find their influence is having some impact on the current situation.
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They haven’t banned the hoards of people flocking there.
4SUMERZ
Flush
Hard to ban people ..but I have a feeling that.....if they could....
The Villages is unique, even in FL. We have more than a few Villages refugees down here around Sarasota/Bradenton.
IMO, the restrictive atmosphere up there is stifling, and not healthy -- we never even considered it as a possible retirement location.
IMO, the restrictive atmosphere up there is stifling, and not healthy -- we never even considered it as a possible retirement location.
OP
OP
JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
I don't think this is a "Florida banning" it in terms of a government ban, but a decision from a busybody residential association, one that apparently covers a substantial number of residents.
4SUMERZ
Flush
It is sort of a gray area as far as playing poker for money according to Florida statute 849.08
Penny ante poker is 100% ok.
Sign me up!!
After reading the “article” linked above, I wondered if there was even an issue to discuss. It’s a garbage piece of journalism that might pass for the junior high school newspaper.
Thanks for what you wrote.
LiveCashGuy
Sitting Out
Just woke ideology aimed at sexualizing children.
4SUMERZ
Flush
Why is everyone taking this so seriously...it's a poker site, not a political forum. Who cares what the Villages do with their poker.
Someone posing with your username turned it in that direction.
The Villages to me is the champion of un-fun things. They are so god damn lame they have a limit on how many days a person under 55 can be in the community. Last I checked it was like a month or something. I legit think they hate fun so that might it lol
doctorchips
Pair
This looks like a fever dream vision of my personal hell.
In my country, retired people, becoming uninhibited as they approach their deaths, go to sparsely populated villages with no youngsters at all, to play poker and backgammon, to drink raki, to have swing sex and walk on mountain trails. 
Sign me upIn my country, retired people, becoming uninhibited as they approach their deaths, go to sparsely populated villages with no youngsters at all, to play poker and backgammon, to drink raki, to have swing sex and walk on mountain trails.
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