Tampa Greyhound Track has announced it is ending live racing starting Aug. 18, only 49 days after beginning its 75th racing season.

The track will, however, continue to have simulcast wagering on greyhounds, thoroughbreds, standardbreds and jai alai. The poker room will also remain open for daily poker games. But the future of live racing beyond December remains unclear.

Track general manager Mike Hater said in a statement, “Since opening our card room on July 1, it has become clear that poker is where we need to focus our efforts. Low attendance for greyhound racing and the popularity and growth of poker made this an obvious business decision due to recent legislative changes.”

At the Thonotosassa compound, a majority of the kennel owners forewarned of legal implications based on the arrangement being made between Tampa and Derby Lane in St. Petersburg.

Although both tracks were granted live year-round racing permits for the 2007-08 season by the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, Derby Lane spokeswoman Vera Filipelli said the facilities have filed applications to amend those dates.

“We’ve agreed to assist Tampa (with dates) through this calendar year ending Dec. 31,” she said. “Nothing is changing at Derby Lane. We’ll still be racing year-round with poker and simulcast wagering.”

Affected employees will be absorbed into other track operations.
Tags: Tampa Greyhound poker room, poker games, Florida poker card room

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 1:49 pm and is filed under Land-Based Casino Poker, Poker Industry News, Poker Tournaments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.