Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in Florida remain open as Hurricane Helen approaches.

For the past 20 years, Earl has been at the forefront of poker and casino coverage. He has contributed to some of the world's largest poker news sites, reporting on tournaments, players, politics, and has also covered the casino industry in depth. He continues to observe the industry and its changes and communicates them to readers around the world.

Last updated on September 26, 2024 at 11:34 PM

While Storm Helen is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico, most of Florida has been evacuated. (Image: Courtesy of WESH-2)

"Only the pond is closed due to the severe weather," a front desk employee told Casinos. com. Other casino buildings remain open as the Category 3 storm moves in from the southern Gulf of Mexico and threatens to freeze into a Category 4 before hitting the Tallahassee area.

This is the norm for the Hard Rock in Tampa, which is open for business even as other facilities are closed.

"If the trade changes we may close, but for now we're open," the receptionist said.

Eye of the poker storm

Hard Rock may stay open because of the many events taking place at the casino resort itself. The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Signature Poker Series kicked off in early September. As part of the festival, tournaments are guaranteed to raise more than $1, 300, 000. With Storm Helena still off the west coast of Florida and no evacuation orders in place, Seminole sees no reason to close the casino.

Current weather models predict the storm will make landfall almost 200 miles north of Tampa. As Helena strengthens and speeds up, nearly the entire state of Florida is under a hurricane watch or warning. However, only three districts in the panhandle have ordered residents to leave the big city.

Seminole Hard Rock risk assessment

You might think that Seminole University isn't taking this storm seriously. A year ago, when the storm approached Yang, the Seminole Hotel was closed as a Category 4 storm pounded the central part of the state, but allowed guests already staying there to stay and did not accept any new guests due to stress from the hurricane, nor did they allow gambling as the hurricane approached.

While owning a chance to deal with gambling during a potentially unsafe natural disaster life seems acceptable, Seminole and almost all other gambling companies do not want to be members. On Friday, when the storm leaks, all gambling companies contacted by Casinos. com said they would reopen their own doors, but this may depend on the amount of damage a particular institution has acquired.

Contact your local casino or card room in Florida and see if they can accommodate you once Helen's storm destroys your own.

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Earl Burton Journalist

For the past 20 years, Earl has been at the forefront of poker and casino coverage. He has contributed to some of the world's largest poker news sites, reporting on tournaments, players, politics, and has also covered the casino industry in depth. He continues to observe the industry and its changes and communicates them to readers around the world.