In the three and one-half years it’s been open, the bestbet poker room in Jacksonville, Florida has become the state’s largest and highest grossing parimutuel. Vice President Deb Giardina said, “We’ve had full anticipation of this success bestbet has had. We really did. It was our expectation and our goal to build this into a destination spot for poker players and put Florida on the map. And I really think we did.”
Giardina and Director of Poker Jesse Hollander successfully launched poker rooms for Wynn Las Vegas and Macau before signing on with bestbet in Florida. “We were brought here to help put poker in Florida and bestbet as a company on the map. Howard Korman, our CEO, and Jamie Shelton, our president, reached out and brought me and Jesse here. They told us to set up a team and make this happen,” Giardina said.
Hollander said bestbet raked in $15.6 million during the 2013-14 fiscal year, ranking it number one in Florida. “People are real happy in our room. They say this is a very comfortable place to play. There’s a lot of space between the tables, our chairs are comfortable and we’ve got a whole lot of TVs to watch any sporting event you want. Not only are these new poker games we have really popular, but we could have four tournaments and 40-50 cash games going on at one time plus satellites. It’s hectic for us, but I feel like we work hard so that the customer feels like it’s always going smooth.”
The Jacksonville card room offers 74 “traditional poker tables,” Giardina said, and six “non-traditional,” plus simulcast horse and greyhound racing and jai alai. The sister facility in Orange Park has 39 poker tables and live greyhound racing.
The state legislature recently finalized a 2009 statute revision allowing table games, the “non-traditional” forms of poker, in which bestbet deals and controls the game but a player serves as the bank, removing the house edge that’s prohibited in Florida. “Thanks to the legislature, we were able to add five new poker games in September and it’s expanded what we can offer players. Depending on what happens with the direction of gaming in Florida, we may soon be able to offer more,” Giardina said. The new games include Pai Gow, 2-card poker, 3-card poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em and Casino War.
Bestbet held its first World Poker Tournament event just one month after opening, in March 2012. Last year’s WPT event guaranteed a $1,000,000 prize pool, which rose to $2.1 million with a field of 461 players. “We take care of our players and always try to keep in mind what they want. And this tournament format is one they seem to really enjoy,” Giardina said.
Hollander said Jacksonville offers a monthly $50,000 guarantee with a $200 buy-in and Orange Park poker room has a monthly $30,000 guarantee event with a $150 buy-in. Bestbet sometimes gives away $60,000-$70,000 a night during special promotions, for example, when players win $1,000 for the high hand every half hour, or $500 for the high hand every 15 minutes. The poker rooms feature a regular College Tournament for players at least 18 years of age, with a $40 buy-in and $1,000 added to the prize pool.
Members of the bestbet staff can be heard talking about poker during a weekly one-hour radio show broadcast locally and online. Free poker classes are offered at both locations.
“We’re proud of what bestbet has done here in North Florida. They’re a great company to work for and they really care about making your poker experience here one you’ll remember and want to come back for again,” Giardina said.
