The Isle Casino and Racing at Pompano Park is celebrating its first birthday in April.

From 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. each Sunday in April, the Isle will award $100 in play every half hour.

Each Monday, people receive 50 Isle points and a birthday scratch-off ticket.

Anyone who wins a jackpot of $1,200 or more during the month will enter a $10,000 jackpot drawing, set for 7:30 p.m. April 30, and those who have won larger jackpots get more entries.

Fireworks at 9 p.m. April 18.

The big stuff is April 25-27. From 8 to 11 p.m. on the 25th is a $25,000 total giveaway, with two $5,000 winners. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. the 26th is another $25,000 giveway, with 20 $500 winners at 6 p.m. And on April 27, the casino gives away an Infiniti G37 coupe at 8 p.m., and $10,000 in cash from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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If you love the World Poker Tour broadcasts, then you've heard that the show has left the Travel Channel and is now on the Game Show Network, which also has the very popular High Stakes Poker.

So, I start to flip over to the Game Show Network, only to find out that, well, I don't get that channel any more. Comcast has deemed that tier of channels (about 100-199) to be some new term ("semi-premium") which I don't get ... unless I pay 12 more bucks a month.

Sorry, I've had it. Comcast out. Direct TV in.

Advice anyone? Commiserate with me or warn me?

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While I wrote about the cheap games today at Dania Jai-Alai, there's also news of their jackpots hitting:

On Tuesday afternoon, Andrew Sknur took home the Royal Flush jackpot in diamonds after an unnamed player hit a $3,000 royal flush. Then Wednesday, David Cruz of Fort Lauderdale became the third winner at Dania Jai-Alai in less than a week. Cruz’s spade Royal Flush hit Wednesday night in a no-limit Texas Hold’em game paying him $9,047 in cash, the highest Royal jackpot paid out so far at Dania Jai-Alai.

Card room personnel say rather than have one big "bad beat" jackpot, they'd rather spread it around. Hence the royal flushes. They also have high hand bonuses regularly.

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In order to make room for the incoming blackjack and baccarat tables, the Hard Rock is having to do some shuffling. And not just the cards.

So they've shut down the Park sports cafe, and are converting that into the poker room. Then they'll reconfigure the floor, with blackjack, baccarat and slots and video gaming machines. Whether the poker room will then return is unclear. (FYI, industry experts note that poker is among the least profitable per-square-foot games for casinos. But they have it the same reason they have a buffet: patrons expect it.)

Hard Rock officials point out some advantages to the move:

1.) It's quieter; not as much music blasting and no jingling of slots machines.

2.) Big-screen TVs in place already, put up by the Park.

3.) At-table food service. (As a player, I go after those who order food, on the idea that they're distracted. So, eat away.)

4.) A semi-private room for the $5-$10 no-limit game that carries the biggest players. So that means no more rail-sitting by chickens like me. But I imagine the players really will like it.

The poker operations are expected to move around May 5. Seminole Hard Rock officials have said they're shooting for June for blackjack to start.

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Paulette Miles hit a $1.1 million slots jackpot last weekend at Seminole Coconut Creek casino.

Where does it rank among jackpots?

International Game Technologies keeps a list of slots records. A rep there says it's probably a record for Florida -- we've only had big slots for such a short time -- and Seminoles and others say it, so I'm comfortable calling it a record.

For the stats freaks, here are some other slot records:

Meanwhile, I give Paulette Miles credit for consenting to media interviews. Hey, if I win that much money, I'm ducking out. FYI, she headed to a financial adviser already, and it looks like she has a plan. But I think she had clearly had it with the attention.

So, if you hit it big, do you duck us media or do you grab the spotlight?

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Sorry to brag, but the timing of my story on Poker Talk America couldn't have been better -- if you like to hear pros.

The show, which airs at 4 p.m. from West Palm Beach station WBZT-1230 AM, has three of the more compelling pros the next three days:

On Tuesday, Hevad Khan, who became renown for being so obnoxious during last year's World Series of Poker.

On Wednesday, Daniel Negreanu, one of my favorites, talks with pro Lisa Adams.

And Thursday, Clonie Gowen, who has been a teacher at the World Poker Tour Boot Camp, is the guest.

Poker Talk America host Frank Greentree always cautions the guests are tentative -- hey, if you had a hot run at the tables would you go do some radio show? -- but they're pretty good sports about showing up, he says.

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I loved West Virginia getting four points against Duke on Saturday and sure enough it paid off. Duke got exposed in the first round as a team that relies too much on the three-pointer. However my parlays continued to miss -- thanks to Notre Dame. I broke my rule of never betting on or against N.D. ever since years of them raking me over no matter which way I went.

Another run of bad cards at the poker table also cost me. You can fold as many hands as you want, and try to bluff when your position is good and there's not much action on the table, but if you don't make something you don't make something. And when you agressively play a straight you hit on the turn then proceed to lose to someone who hit the straight flush, you know things are not going well.

Back to basketball. Games to watch today:

Texas laying 6 1/2 to Miami. I thought the Hurricanes would go out in the first round given their efficiency margin, or lack thereof, but Jack McClinton made sure they didn't with a career-high 38 points, 32 of which came in the second half.

Georgetown -5 against Davidson. It'll be like a home game for Davidson with the game in Raleigh, N.C., but Georgetown's too good defensively to let Davidson's Stephen Curry drop another 40 points. The Hoyas shut down UMBC in the second half, holding them to 32 percent shooting on their way to a 19-point win. Laying just five against a Davidson at least seems like a good bet.

Finally, it's odd being in Vegas on Easter. Then again, maybe all these tough beats are some sort of penance. Hopefully I'll get a little divine intervention though before I leave.

-- Brian Wacker, Sun-Sentinel.com

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It's been a brutal day here in Las Vegas. I just got back from a Texas Hold 'Em 3-6 limit game at the MGM's poker room. After a run of bad cards and poor check-raises I went on a run to get back up to even before dumping nearly all of both stacks back. I don't think I've ever seen so many hands of Q-2, A-3 and non-suited disconnectors in my life. And even when things looked promising, I caught some bad beats on fourth street and the river. The worst was a Queen-high flush (with a straight daw on the board) that I played strong, only to lose to a guy with a King-high flush. That's the biggest difficulty with limit games -- you can't control the game nearly as much as you can in a no-limit game or tournament. Had it been a no-limit game, he admitted, I could've pushed him off the hand and won the pot.

On more than a few occasions I drew pocket pairs, or K-A or A-Q, etc., but again could rarely do anything with them because a) the flop drew flush and straight draws for my opponents; b) the table was fairly agressive in calling any pre-flop raises (especially since it's such a low limit).

I then fell victim to a slow-played ace. In hindsight, the guy played it well but an oddly-timed bet after a couple of checks had me and the other player still in the hand thinking we could get him with what turned about to be flush draws for both of us, only Mr. Slow Play got us both. Had he made bets along the way, however, at least on the turn, he probably would've drawn us in and taken even more of our money.

As for March Madness, things aren't going very well on that front either. I flushed another $20 away on a pair of parlays that both lost -- thanks to Drake's dramatic overtime loss to Western Kentucky, and San Diego's overtime shocker against UConn. Nearly all of ESPNZone in New York-New York was chanting for overtime in the Drake game, and somehow Drake erased a nine-point deficit with 2 minutes to play to get there (they were favored by four). But, even up four at one point in OT, they couldn't hold off Western Kentucky as Ty Rogers hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired. Western won by two and I was glad Drake was going home since they cost me my parlay by not covering the spread. Not surprisingly, the same thing was uttered a little while later by a few people that had money on UConn as De'Jon Jackson hit the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left.

This, by the way, is why parlays of course pay so well (6-to-1 on a three-team parlay). And in this age of parity it's become that much harder to hit on those. Butler and Texas, both of whom won by 20, were better bets, but didn't pay out as well.

As for my brackets, the USC and UConn losses put a dent in one of them (I had USC in the Elite Eight and UConn in the Sweet Sixteen), but the other one is in good shape with only UConn as a big loss (from the Sweet Sixteen).

That's about all the bad beats I can handle for one day, but feel free to share your worst bad-beat stories here.

-- Brian Wacker, Sun-Sentinel.com

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The legislature is weighing a bill that would specifically help Palm Beach Kennel Club operations grow.

I'm coming in late to this one, but it seems like it could mean a poker venue somewhere between West Palm and the two northernmost Broward casinos, the Isle in Pompano and Seminole Coconut Creek. I like those places just fine, and I'd think the Isle and/or Coconut Creek would object.

So, if you play at the Isle or Seminole Coconut Creek and live in PB County, would you leave there to play at some other room?

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It's 8:30 a.m. Las Vegas time, which means I've got about a half hour before the first games start. It's one of the things you have to get used to out here, games starting at 9 a.m. local time. The early buzz at the MGM sports book is about seventh-seeded Butler. The line has already dropped with the Bears getting a lot of action and currently they're favored by 4 over 10th-seeded South Alabama. I like them, too. Here are a few other games I like:

Straight up bets:

Clemson laying 6 to Villanova. The Tigers are rolling coming off an ACC tournament championship game appearance, while Villanova limped into the tournament, only getting in by beating Syracuse in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Vanderbuilt -7 against Siena. Are you kidding me? Vandy is at least a Sweet 16 team and a sleeper Elite Eight team, in my book.

St. Joseph's +1 against Oklahoma or St. Mary's (Calif.) +1 against Miami. I'm using the efficiency margin here. Both Miami and Oklahoma were outscored by their conference opponents during the season. As I mentioned earlier this week, teams that are have just a 1-4 record in the NCAA tournament the last two years. One, if not both, will fall.

Bracket update:

I have two sheets in the office pool at the Sun-Sentinel, but one of them took a major hit with USC getting beat by Kansas State. I had the Trojans in the Elite Eight. In the other bracket, however, BYU was my only blemish as the Cougars lost to Texas A&M.

-- Brian Wacker, Sun-Sentinel.com

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I focused my story on Frank Greentree, who created Poker Talk America radio show in West Palm Beach, but I just as easily could have written about the show. (You could argue they're one and the same.)

Anyway, we have video of Frank and company in action. And, FYI, I'll be on the show, speaking about the Sun-Sentinel's new gambling pages, on Friday. Show starts at about 4:05 on WBZT, Am 1230, right after Fox News covers the world.

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So much for a no-brainer. In a battle between stars Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo, Beasley's Kansas State Wildcats coasted past USC 80-67 (USC was favored by two) and destroyed my three-team parlay. There are only a few games left for the night and none of them involve any personal action.

The best bet of the day (which I didn't make), however, was Belmont, which was getting 20, and ultimately lost by just one in a wild game in the West bracket.

As for at the tables, I'm still even for the day but that'll change one way or the other later tonight with more blackjack and some Texas Hold 'Em to come.

In the meantime, there's an interesting story in the Chicago Tribune about the FBI keeping tabs on March Madness betting. To read more, click here.

-- Brian Wacker, Sun-Sentinel.com

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As mentioned earlier in the week, I'll be blogging from Las Vegas during March Madness. There's no better place to be during March Madness than here -- it's the second biggest week of the year for Sin City, which must explain why checking into the MGM Grand Hotel was semi-difficult (the room wasn't ready and by the time it was it took another 25 minutes for the bags to get delivered).

A group of buddies and I have been coming here for the last few years for this weekend and like every other year we didn't waste any time getting our bets in. While my friend Gregg didn't like any of the games still on the board for today, three games immediately jumped out at me. A lot of people think parlays are sucker bets, but West Virginia, Texas A&M and USC were all laying just two points so I couldn't resist. And at $10 to win $60 the odds are in my favor (at least that's what I keep telling myself).

After that it was a quick stop at the blackjack table, where I must have been dealt an ace at least a dozen times only to hit blackjack on it once. The rest of the hands were either pushes or losses. After about 45 minutes we got bored -- and Gregg lost his stack. I walked away even after going up then back down then back to even. By the way, does anyone else get annoyed when other players play their hands as if no one else is at the table?

It's back to the casino for now. I'll be back later with more picks. In the meantime, if you have any games in particular you like in the tournament, let me know by email at bwacker@sun-sentinel.com. I'm also looking for your best Texas Hold 'Em tips. I've been playing it for years and it's virtually the only poker I play, but I'm curious to hear what your strategies are. Or how about your top 3 casinos in Vegas?

-- Brian Wacker, Sun-Sentinel.com

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One bar poker tournament company is using its muscle to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

All in Free Poker, which is based at more than 25 South Florida bars and restaurants, is donating 5 percent of funds they are paid by venues to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida

To date, $15,000 has been raised to grant the wishes of wish-children Andrewis and Eva. Their stories are at www.allinfreepoker.com.

The average cost to fulfill a wish is $5,000.

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Dang. I didn’t win last night’s Lotto drawing. Only got 1 measly number on one of my five $2 plays. Stupid me. Never again.

So it’s back to the blog grind.

Plenty of other gambling news this morning, starting with the state senate’s approval of a gambling bill that would allow Class II video slots at pari-mutuels around the state. Steve Geller’s bill would also lower the tax rate on Class III slots at Broward and Miami-Dade pari-mutuels, from 50 percent to 35 percent.

(Refresher course for non-gamblers: With Class II video slots, gamblers play against each other in a common pool. With Class III Vegas-style slots, gamblers play against the casino.)

The bill’s long-term prospects are dicey, because House speaker Marco Rubio might squash it in his chamber. But you never know what can happen in Tallahassee.

The Seminole tribe will certainly push for its passage.

That’s because it would let the Seminoles off the hook for their annual minimum $100 million gambling payments to the state. Under the terms of the compact signed last year, the Seminoles’ payments stop if video slots are allowed anywhere in the state.

And the Seminoles would still be able to offer Vegas slots and blackjack. With the state getting absolutely nothing in return.

That’s why I thought the compact, which is being challenged by the Legislature and reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court, was such a lousy deal for the state.

The first draft version of the compact would have allowed video slots elsewhere without voiding the tribe’s payments.

But the final version was changed so that any type of slot machine, including video slots, would trigger the escape clause.

So whatever revenue figure the state throws out as being generated by pari-mutuel video slots, make sure you remember to subtract $100-150 million for the lost tribal payments.

In other gambling news, the Seminoles announced they’re looking for 3,650 blackjack and baccarat dealers and pit bosses for their seven casinos. The tribe hopes to have blackjack games up and running in June.

But before you cheer the boost to the slumping local job market, the Seminoles announced they’re holding a big job fair. In Atlantic City.

Geez. I know they probably prefer experienced dealers, but wouldn’t it be nice if the bulk of the jobs went to locals? I mean, how hard can it be to properly train somebody to deal blackjack? Giving locals first crack at the jobs would build goodwill.

With gambling revenues over $1.4 billion a year, you’d think the Seminoles could afford to train Floridians first. Especially if it turns out that they won’t pay a dime to the state to have blackjack.

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Our John Holland put together the pieces on the Seminole Coconut Creek slots announcements, the Seminoles' announcement that they are hiring blackjack dealers and the role the other pari-mutuels play in South Florida gaming.

Meanwhile, spurred by a reader e-mail, I talked to CEO Jim Allen about what exactly the rules will be for blackjack.

Her questions:

1- Does the dealer draw on a soft 17?
2- Does dealer follow the "English hole card rule": i.e does not draw his hole card until all hands have been played out and, if he then has blackjack, house collects ALL bets, including splits and double downs.
3- Does the house take pushes?
4- Are splits and double downs allowed? Any restrictions?
5- Is surrender allowed? Any restrictions?

The point is, there are some variances in the game, depending on where you play, and they could be less advantageous to players -- and more advantageous to the house.

Allen says the tribe's gaming officials are studying what rules to employ, and when it's worked out, they'll pass it on to us.

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The Seminole Coconut Creek officially welcomed Vegas-style slots Wednesday, and, as is their style, announced bigger news: The Seminoles' seven casinos are hiring 3,650 dealers.

The Seminoles are adding blackjack, baccarat and other table games this summer, starting with the Seminole Hard Rock (likely in June, CEO Jim Allen said), and then the rest of the properties.

So they need 3,650 dealers, floor supervisors, pit managers and related personnel. The job fair is in Atlantic City March 18-19 and other will follow. (More information at www.workdhardrock.com). Or fax a resume to 813-620-6308.

They're also taking a swipe at getting dealers from cruise ships, with an ad campaign that says: Feeling lost at sea? Hit the shore.

The small print says "two years experience preferred."

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While the High Heels Poker Tour takes off in South Florida and the rest of the Eastern United States, there's news from the World Poker Tour: The first female major tournament winners.

Van Nguuyen, wife of poker professional Men “The Master” Nguyen, beat 444 players to win the Sixth Annual WPT Invitational hosted by the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles.

"We’re thrilled the time has finally come to celebrate a female WPT Champion,” said WPT founder Steve Lipscomb in a news release. “It was only a matter of time before a female took down a major WPT tournament ... Her win is one of many recent events that solidify women as a major force to be reckoned with on and off the tables.”

The show will air at 9 p.m. July 21 on the Game Show Network, the new home for the WPT.

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The High Heels Poker Tour is returning to South Florida and its March 29 tournament offers a heck of a prize: a seat at the main event of the World Series of Poker, plus airfare to Las Vegas and hotel room.

To those of you who don't follow poker closely, the World Series entry alone is worth $10,000. It's the big tournament that ESPN covers and airs the rest of the year. (And, in case you've already won your seat, the tournament gives you the choice of taking the 10 grand straight up instead of the seat and transportation and lodging.)

Entry for the 1 p.m. March 29 tournament, set for Seminole Hollywood Casino (the old place south of the Hard Rock), is $450. Or you can enter the $125 qualifying tournaments heading into the March 29 event, set for 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 15) and on March 22 at the Seminole Hollywood. Win one of those, and save paying the $450.

I wrote about the High Heels Poker tour (catch phrase: "Poker is in our Sole") back on Oct. 20, when Lauren Failla, a Hollywood woman and the High Heels founder, held a 100-woman tournament at The Isle Casino and Racing in Pompano Beach. Since then, she's held WSOP related events in Iowa and in Tunica, Miss.

"I just want to see more women playing poker," she said recently. Casinos support the concept, because it helps them grow the poker industry: It gives women who might be intimidated to play in a regular tournament a start.

For info, go to www.highheelspokertour.com.

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The Seminole Casino Coconut Creek will have its official Vegas-style slot unveiling at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Click the more portion for the official release:

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So, if you didn't see the promo in our paper, here it is: We're expanding the way we cover gambling.

One big reason: If you really want to gamble, you don't have to hop a plane to Vegas, Atlantic City or the island any more. There's probably something fewer than 15 minutes away.

And as casinos have popped up in our area, there are more decisions to make, both in terms of where to go and what to play. So, we've expanded our coverage, to give you a better picture of what's going on -- and to tell you about some facets you may not be familiar with.

A listings page and a story on bad beats -- somewhat tied to Palm Beach Kennel -- debuts in Showtime section on Friday.

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Vegas-style slots are now available at a second Seminole casino in South Florida.

Seminole Coconut Creek Casino, 4150 S.R. 7, had a "soft launch" last week, converting about 300 of its Class II video gaming machines into the more popular Vegas style slots. The casino has set a grand opening media announcement for March 12.

Another 400 machines at Coconut Creek will be converted by the March 12 opening, Seminole representatives say.

The rollout of the Class IIIs began with the Seminoles and Gov. Charlie Crist agreeing to a compact last year. (Which, if you follow gambling, you've heard more than enough about.) The Seminole Hard Rock installed its Class III slots in late January, and had an official launch Jan. 28.

Seminole representatives haven't yet said whether Class IIIs are coming to their other South Florida property, the ancient Seminole Hollywood Casino a couple blocks south of the Hard Rock. With each pull, the Class II slots play a game of bingo against other players; Class III "Vegas-style" slots compete against the house.

Meanwhile, plans continue to offer black jack and baccarat at the Hard Rock. Staff is being trained and the games should begin "in a couple of months," said Gary Bitner, spokesman for the Seminole Tribe.

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Now you can see what Seminole Coconut Creek Casino GM Steve Bonner was talking about...

As I blogged about below, if a piece of the destroyed spy satellite hits the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek before March 12, they’re planning a free drawing giveaway of $1 million. And to celebrate the arrival of Las Vegas-style slot machines that day, $30,000 will be given to a patron even if the debris doesn’t arrive. The casino is at 5550 NW 40th St., in Coconut Creek.

Bonner said he invoked the spirit of The Price Is Right, and painted a 100-foot-by-100-foot target and invited the debris to “come on down!”

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Apparently, Feb. 29 is a big day at Mardi Gras casino.

The casino's Jester’s Leap Year Jam already has almost every machine in use, as of 2 p.m. Friday, according to Mardi Gras' Michelle Dingcong.

"The lines are already out the door," she said.

Still to come: at 7p.m., the first 1,000 Players Club members with their coupons will receive a Mardi Gras logo watch. Those who have their Player’s Card inserted in a slot machine during the Jester Jamboree’s random selection every hour from 7 to 9 p.m. will be eligible to win $500.

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So, I had a spare Friday night, and got to hit the bar poker tournament at the Sports Rock Lounge in Pembroke Pines (1828 North University Dr Pembroke Pines 954-704-0290) and left with some valuable multi-table experience.

There were about 100 players -- Friday is the weekly winners' tournament night in the circuit of tournaments operated by Bar Poker Pros. (www. barpokerpros.com). They have about six to eight tournaments a night, mostly across Broward, and

(I'm trying to hit all the bar poker groups I can and at least get them up there, and eventually want to do a list of them on this blog, so, folks, email me links, please.)

Well-organized tournament (Steve, the organizer has casino management experience and his dealers also work all over the place), nice folks at the table, and pretty good play. Not too much limping going on, but certainly not overwrought with all-in bluster, either. Mainly, seemed like the players knew the luck factor cards play: sometimes you outplay people and win, other times, they outplay you, only for you to come through on a suck-out. I sat next to an older lady named Mame, who I liked even though she was originally from New York.

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NFL alumni and current NFL cheerleaders will wash cars for charity from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek west parking lot.

Cost is $10 per car, $20 per truck. The casino is giving $10 in free play back.

Among the players:
Bobby Harden, Dolphins safety from 1990-93; Kerry Glenn, Jets and Dolphins from 1985-92; Dwight Stephenson, Dolphins from 1980 - 87; John Harris, former safety with the Vikings and Seahawks, and Larry Ball, from the 1972 team, which you might have heard of their place in history.

Donations go to the non-profit NFL Alumni Association’s Caring for Kids program.

Based in Fort Lauderdale and composed mostly of former NFL players, the association operates under the motto “Caring For Kids.”

And, just to make sure you know: the players are 'former.' The cheerleaders are current.
A good mix.

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So, the bad beat jackpot built up to $233,400 before it hit Sunday night at Palm Beach Kennel Club.

Charles Infantolino's four queens in a game of 7-card stud won him $116,700.

The jackpot had been going for almost two month and is believed to be a record for Florida poker rooms, which just got the OK to operate jackpots back on July 1, when the state changed some gambling rules.

Infantolino, 64, lost to Tasha Johnson, who had a straight flush: A through 5 of spades. Johnson, 29, of Riviera Beach won $58,350.

So, here come the questions:

1.) Because PB Kennel combines the Omaha, 7-Stud and Hold 'em jackpots, are you, as a Hold'em player, a little ticked off, even though the club weights the hands so there's no advantage to play one game or another?

2.) If you won, how much would you tip the dealer?

3.) I'm trying to catch up with Infantolino, but am failing. If you hit it big, would you go into hiding?

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News out of the Boyd Gaming public meeting today is that plans to makeover Dania Jai-Alai are being delayed. Reasons cited: the economy and the 50 percent tax currently imposed by the Florida Legislature.

Some legislators have changes to the current 50 percent tax on the board, and depending on whether they go through or not, Boyd will consider, officials said at the meeting.

The delay further depresses spirits at the fronton, which is almost empty for jai-alai matches and has a spacious (read: underused) poker room. Fronton officials offer $5 multitable tournaments at 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays just to get people into the door.

Can't hardly blame Boyd, though, a public company that has to report to its shareholders. When the payoff on slots is only $200 per machine per day, it's pretty hard to pump millions into a project -- and takes a very long time for a company to get its money back.

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Every casino I walk into, I'm surprised about how versed the patrons -- and the staff -- are about Tallahassee's role in gambling in the state.

If you're a little behind, our John Holland tries to get you caught up with a q-and-a about the recent gambling compact between the state and the Seminole Indians.

Meanwhile, they finally hit the bad beat at Palm Beach Kennel; a straight flush beat out four queens in a game of 7-stud. More details later.

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NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Sr. will now have their mugs on poker chips.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is unveiling the new chips Monday, with Jeff Gordon. They’ll be for sale at the poker cashier cage for $5.

A different chip will be available every Monday through April 14. The schedule: Jeff Burton on March 3, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on March 10, Jimmie Johnson on March 17, Dale Earnhardt on March 24, Clint Bowyer on March 31, Kevin Harvick on April 7, and Kasey Kahne on April 14.

According to the casino, Seminole Hard Rock’s director of poker, Peter Arsenis, is pleased with the addition of these collectable chips and the buzz it will create on the poker floor. “NASCAR has a loyal fan base attracting people from all over the country. We hope to capitalize on its popularity especially in South Florida by creating some excitement among poker players and casino guests."

It's the second Seminole Hard Rock casino to have the chips, behind Tampa, and will expand to four other properties, the casino says.

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As if a casino doesn't carry enough hope: The Seminole Casino Coconut Creek general manager is offering patrons $1 million if debris from the recently obliterated U.S. spy satellite falls on his property.

"They hit it with one shot, so we'll give our patrons one shot," General Manager Steve Bonner said Thursday afternoon.

Bonner says that if any portion of the exploded satellite lands on his turf, he'll have a $1 million drawing. Experts say the debris may take a few days to fall, so the offer ends March 10 (not coincidentally, the date Class III slots debut at the casino, 5550 NW 40th St.). The casino decides whether any debris found is other-wordly, and not planted by patrons with a get-rich-quick scheme in mind.

To push the stunt one step further, Bonner said he is having workers paint a bull's-eye on the casino, likely on Friday.

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Palm Beach Kennel reports that its bad beat jackpot, which I wrote about last week, has grown to over $210,000.

You know, I'm wondering if at some point it's affecting action negatively: in other words, everyone gets their cards, no one drives anyone out in case they hit the jackpot, especially if there's two pair on the board.

How would you play it?

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The Casino at Gulfstream Park will be conducting a grand prize promotion where one of 300,000 printed “tickets” will be worth a grand prize amount of $250,000. The event will be held today through Feb. 18, from 9 am until close except Monday, 9 am - midnight.

Here’s how it works: The Sun-Sentinel inserted approx. 266,200 “tickets” into today's newspaper to all home subscribers except North Palm Beach zone. In addition, approximately 35,000 pieces will be mailed to Player’s Club members Anyone bringing a ticket in must either already be a member or sign up for the Good Luck Players Club. The first 10,000 people to come in will have a chance to play for the $250,000 prize.

Good Luck Player’s Club membership is required for participation in the promotion.

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When I go to the track, I’ll put $5 to win on a horse if I like it. If I love a horse, I’ll shell out $10 or $20.

But I can’t imagine anybody in their right mind doing the same thing with their Lotto picks.

As in, “I really like my chances of hitting the 4-11-17-26-39-44 this week. So I’m going to put $3 on those numbers, not just $1.”

Yet that’s what the state is about to allow, in an effort to boost Lotto revenues.

Starting March 5, the Florida Lottery will let Lotto players increase their potential winnings by selling add-on bets to each set of picked numbers.

Those who play the minimum $1 will be eligible for the standard jackpot pool. Those who play for $2 will get an additional $10 million if their numbers hit. And those who play for $3 will get an additional $25 million if they pick all six numbers.

My reaction: Anybody who buys the add-on has to be nuts.

Lotto is already the biggest sucker bet going. For somebody to double or triple their bet on a 23 million-to-1 shot is madness. Shame on the state for trying to boost revenues this way.

Here’s what would have been a better idea: Lowering the minimum bet to 10 cents.

It’s something racetracks have done with longshot gimmick bets such as superfectas. By lowering the minimum, people can get much more bang for their buck, as in 10 different combinations instead of 1.

Imagine if you could get 50 sets of Lotto numbers, not just five, for your weekly $5 quick pick.

That’s something even a sporadic Lotto player like myself could get on board with, even if it meant getting a smaller share of a jackpot.

What do you think? Do you play Lotto? And will you plunk down the extra buck or two for the add-on jackpot?

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Poker players have their eyes on a big jackpot at Palm Beach Kennel Club.

The "bad beat" jackpot at the poker room has grown to over $187,000, the highest ever in a state-regulated casino.

A "bad beat" occurs when one player has a seemingly unbeatable hand, only to lose. Example: Your four jacks lose to someone's four queens. When a bad beat jackpot hits, the person who lost gets half the jackpot, the hand winner gets one-fourth, and the rest of the table splits what's left.

Poker action has picked up considerably at Palm Beach Kennel, Card room manager Noah Carbone said.

"It's been a tremendous boost for business," he said. "You'll hear a table where it gets close get louder, then quiet down. But someone's going to hit it."

The jackpot, creating by the club pulling $1 per hand played at each table, has been building for 47 days. It usually hits every nine days, he said. Previous record: $70,000 or so. At Dania, the bad beat hit $52,000 recently (see my Feb. 6 post below; FYI, their PR was wrong, the loser had Aces over Jacks).

In Texas Hold 'em, the minimum hand for a bad beat at PB Kennel is a full house of Aces over jacks. Because there is now such a high payoff for two players to hit four-of-a-kind, for example, at a table, players are staying in with hands they normally wouldn't, Carbone notes.

"People who normally would fold small pairs are trying to hit the quads. It makes sense mathematically because the payout is so high," he said.

PB Kennel also has 7-card stud and Omaha players, and those players are rolled into the same bad beat jackpot, Carbone said. The card room has about 40 tables, usually 30 are the $100 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold' em, 4-5 are low-limit Hold'em, 4-5 are 7-card stud and one Omaha, he said.

To hit a bad beat in 7-card stud, a player must have at least four deuces. In Omaha, at least four jacks. Many places have separate jackpots, he said.

"We wanted the players to still play their favorite games. Not have the stud players obligated to play Hold ‘em," he said. "We did extensive research and ran simulations and projected what level to make it fair."

The strategy also changes for those with killer hands, or should, he said. He noted that one player had four of a kind, and overbet to run other players out. Had she checked, another player would have hit a hand high enough to make for a bad beat.

"It was an $85,000 decision," Carbone said.

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