Fans, Antibes: Dog Track Adds Poker Room
Fans, Antibes: Dog Track Adds Poker Room
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"I think there will be a lot more people coming if we play poker," said Cathy Hill, an ambitious merchant from Melbourne who is learning the ropes. She is one of 28 merchants currently training for her new job.
"I've always loved playing cards, and I thought this would outweigh working in the office," she said.
Officials at Melbourne's Greyhound Park, which received county approval for its poker room operation in October, said the new operation would generate around 150 new jobs and a lot of revenue for the community while customers spent money in card rooms.
An increase in customer numbers won't hurt the facility, which has seen a drop of nearly 66 percent in pay-per-view over the past six years. Combining dog racing and poker could make Melbourne's Greyhound Park attract more tourists.
"There's never been a place like this for miles," said Patrick Vidix, the general manager of Melbourne's Greyhound Park. "We were allowed to run a poker room because of the job, which is the main reason."
The company that owns Greyhound Track, or Dallas-based EFOLP, which purchased the facility in August, is betting that the venture will be a success. The company is selling approximately $3 million to $4 million to renovate to accommodate the new offer.
Located on 1100 N. Wickham Road, the track has been changed from a six-month Greyhound racing season to a full-year schedule for poker. Current regulations require Greyhound tracks to "race" at least eight races a day to have a poker room.
There is no prediction of how many people the poker room will attract, but other greyhound tracks offering the game have been successful.
"Poker has been the 'red-haired stepchild' in the gaming industry," said Tom Mateen, a track backer. "But now it's the most popular thing since it's been on TV. Everyone is looking for a place to play Texas holdsums or five or seven studs."
Travel Channel is airing the popular television show "World Poker Tour," which is highly recognized as the cause of the poker craze.
To accommodate the expected influx of poker players at the 35-year-old facility, EFOLP has signed deals with architects who designed a 16,000-square-foot, fully converted two-story that can accommodate 40 poker tables.
The company offers free dealer training, so we'll have enough staff for next week's launch.
"This is good for the community in so many ways," Bidix said. "We're creating jobs, and people really want a new form of entertainment around here. Poker is popular, and there's no other poker room around here. It will be a huge contribution to the community."
Track officials say these types of poker rooms are at Daytona Beach Kennel Club to the north and Palm Beach Kennel Club to the south.
"Of course, a lot of kennels want their share of the money," he said. "It will help us attract and maintain high-quality animals."
As long as the facility runs one "performance" a day, or at least eight dog races, poker rooms can operate from noon to midnight, according to David Roberts, director of the Paris-Mutuel Wagering Division in Florida.
"The intention is to engage more customers into the facility while also playing poker," Roberts said. "Once the track enters the poker room, the hope is that it will attract new people who are not familiar with greyhound racing. Poker is a big hit right now. All you have to do is go to the store for Christmas, and you've seen how hot the poker game and anything related to poker really is."
Vidix said he believed poker crows and greyhounds were actually quite similar.
"The greyhound herd and the poker herd are exactly the same customers," he said. "I believe one will eat the other. It's nice around." 슬롯사이트 순위
One of the main reasons dogs run around all year round is to support poker room operations, he said.
"From the perspective of Greyhound people, kennels will receive significant money from poker rooms, so it's a good idea to stay open year-round, not just in winter," he said. "And poker will cover the cost of running dogs year-round. We're hoping to be profitable in the first year, and all of this will be a new investment that pays off."