Poker now the #5 tourist destination Northeast Florida

[jtwestside]

After opening only about a year ago best bet is now the number 5 tourist  attraction in Northeast Florida. According to Jacksonville Business Journal BestBet had 581,784 visitors in 2011.

Do you think that poker really is such a "huge" draw or is it a lack of any other destinations in  the Jacksonville area.

Do you think these 580k people are mostly locals looking for something to do or truly "tourist" meaning folks from out of town specifically in Jacksonville for pleasure? Do you think BestBet was the specific reason some of them came to Jacksonville?

Clearly if 500k + people are going to that area they need to eat, drink and shop. Granted I'm sure there is food/drink in the BestBet but surely some could be lured over to the Regency mall area.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/10/05/top-tourist-attractions-in-northeast.html?s=image_gallery

Here is the original thread on BestBet. http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,12564.15.html

[CityLife]

Those numbers are HEAVILY skewed up by repeat visitors. Poker/gambling is a job or hobby for some people. I have a cousin who is a professional poker player and plays (elsewhere) every day. I also have a friend who is a pretty good poker player and plays about 50 times a year locally. He says he plays against the same people virtually every time.

I'm sure some come from out of town, but you are looking at surrounding counties that can drive in and drive home, not people coming to Jax for a gambling vacation.

[simms3]

I can't believe the BizJournal would even list Best Bet as a tourist destination.  There are places to gamble and at minimum play poker in every county of this country nowadays.  Nobody is driving/flying in for "Best Bet".  LoL

Between this and their recent article about the Chinese "hedge fund manager" moving to Orange Park and wanting to throw money at an "organic" ChinaTown in downtown Jax, I see no point in reading the publication any longer.  The "Business Journal" is only serving to embarass the city at this point.

[CityLife]

Yea Simms, not sure why they even listed it as a "tourist destination". The Jax Beaches are more of a tourist destination using their methodology and get far more than 500k visitors a year. Surprised they didn't use that.

That said...I think a casino or Best Bet type place in or very near DT, would actually be a tourist draw. Perhaps at the Shipyards or JEA site.

Anyone know what ever happened to this 3 billion casino proposal in DT Miami?

http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/us-markets/vacation-leisure-real-estate-1/resorts-world-miami-new-miami-casino-the-mcclatchy-co-miami-herald-bayfront-2011-property-llc-genting-malaysia-berhad-arquitectonica-genting-group-new-florida-casinos-4436.php

[Dapperdan]

We are not approved for any casino's, and there is no reservation land in our city. There was special legislation that allowed casino's in Dade county only.

[Tacachale]

^Presumably they just took raw visitor statistics from specific places. The Beaches all together probably get 500,000 visitors in a month, however it's really a number of beaches spread over several towns and communities, plus a bunch of individual bars, restaurants, hotels, and other venues that create a draw for "The Beaches". The golf courses all together also draw far more than 500,000 people yearly. However, it's not necessarily a bad measure to look at individual places, especially ones that are clearly gauging attendance.

As far as determining who's coming in from out of town, the way to get a read on it would be to look at hotel stays. People within daytrip distance are presumably less likely to rent a hotel. Of course it would hard to determine who's staying in a hotel for poker versus some other reason, or combination of reasons. The number of repeat visitors isn't really significant; it's still a person going to that place rather than some other place.

This said, local/daytrip visitors are still really important, especially in Florida, since it means people spending their time and money locally rather than making a trip to somewhere else. On a similar note, a poker room and several of the other listed destinations are things you can't do in Orlando.

[Tacachale]

Yea Simms, not sure why they even listed it as a "tourist destination". The Jax Beaches are more of a tourist destination using their methodology and get far more than 500k visitors a year. Surprised they didn't use that.

That said...I think a casino or Best Bet type place in or very near DT, would actually be a tourist draw. Perhaps at the Shipyards or JEA site.

Anyone know what ever happened to this 3 billion casino proposal in DT Miami?

http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/us-markets/vacation-leisure-real-estate-1/resorts-world-miami-new-miami-casino-the-mcclatchy-co-miami-herald-bayfront-2011-property-llc-genting-malaysia-berhad-arquitectonica-genting-group-new-florida-casinos-4436.php

We are not approved for any casino's, and there is no reservation land in our city. There was special legislation that allowed casino's in Dade county only.

Not quite. Different forms of gambling are regulated differently in Florida, and most are (and have been for decades) exclusively the right of the tribes. There are, however, some bizarre exceptions for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Historically, casino-style gambling (slots, roulette, "banked" card games like blackjack, etc.) were not allowed even on tribal lands, but as of 2010 a negotiated compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida (with the Miccosukee Tribe explicitly benefiting from any rights given to the Seminole) allowed the expansion of casino-style gaming on tribal lands.

The Miami casino boondoggle was separate; it required changing state law to allow the expansion of gambling outside of tribal lands - but in the Miami area only - in a cynical violation of the standing compact with the tribes. The state legislature cancelled the vote on the casino bill, putting it off for the last fiscal year. Expect the Miami Pork Machine to be out in full force to get it reconsidered this year.

As for a casino in Jacksonville, the tribes could purchase land in Jacksonville if they wanted to. That's basically what happened in Tampa. However, it's unlikely to happen in any downtown area at this juncture, since the land they bought would be tribal land.

[thelakelander]

The Seminole Tribe purchased 750 acres in Lakeland a couple of years ago.  However, they are planning a residential development for tribal members on that property.

http://www2.tbo.com/business/breaking-news-business/2011/feb/04/seminoles-plan-tribal-housing-on-land-near-lakelan-ar-10527/

[copperfiend]

That said...I think a casino or Best Bet type place in or very near DT, would actually be a tourist draw. Perhaps at the Shipyards or JEA site.

The Landing

[whitey]

Every weekend people from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and from other parts of Florida converge at bestbet Regency.  The next closest poker room in the Southeast is outside of Asheville, but it is small and gets very few players.  So basically if you live in the SE and want to play poker you have to come here or the far out exurbs of DC.

Add in the fact that 3 times per year the best bet hosts a two week poker tournament series with the World Poker Tour that brings in players from across the country and the numbers aren't that far fetched.