Gambling Boats In Texas
- Gambling Boats In Texas Gulf
- Casino Boats In Texas
- Gambling Boats In Corpus Christi Texas
- Gambling Boats In Texas
GALVESTON, Texas- Have you heard? You can now gamble in Galveston, kind of. A cruise ship, called Jacks or Better Casino, just arrived at the Galveston Yacht Basin this month. Once the ship is 9.1. Since gambling is illegal in Texas, the games can't commence until boats reach federal waters, typically 9 or 10 miles from shore. A host of international cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean.
Texas casinos have been one of the major things to do for Texans for quite some time. Though there are only two genuine casinos in Texas offering gaming, there are numerous wagering choices within the state. Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, southwest of San Antonio, and the Texas Treasure Casino Boat near Redfish are the two most popular places for gambling in Texas. Beyond the two favored options lie a bounty of other choices for betting, including both live and simulcast horse racing and greyhound racing. Parimutuel wagers (meaning races are broadcast by television or radio and bets are divvied up according to the amount of winners’ total wagers) are a common form of betting at most of the wagering facilities.
Kickapoo Lucky Eagle is a popular Texas casino and one of the hottest entertainment complexes on the Texas-Mexico border. Gaming, dining, and a host of exciting entertainment lies within. Bingo is one of the biggest draws. The Bingo Dome at Kickapoo features Sunday to Friday sessions beginning at 7 p.m. and two Saturday sessions with huge prize pay outs and ongoing promotions. The live poker room is a flurry of activity. Twelve poker tables dealing 7 Card Stud and Texas Hold ‘Em are featured every day. Tournaments and promotions are always on in the poker room at this Texas casino, which is open from Monday to Friday until 5 a.m. From penny slots to $25 games, 1,800 slot machines ring, flash, and light up the floor. A huge buffet, two sports bars, and a café nail down all dining needs and live music and other performances dot the events calendar.
Texas Treasure Casino Boat is the second premier option for gambling in Texas. It is the go-to for casinos in Texas offering gaming cruises and onboard dining with three distinct restaurants. The large cruise ship is packed with options for gambling in Texas. More than 23 table games are onboard, including Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, blackjack, live poker, and roulette. More than 500 slot machines keep the floor action-packed while the bingo hall, with seating for 100, is another choice for welcoming Lady Luck at this Texas casino. Head to 229 Highway 361 South Port Aransas, one of the top vacation spots in Texas, for cruise departures leaving Tuesday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. Entry prices vary depending on the day of the week. Also notable is the cruise ship offers no accommodations. Nearby Port Aransas hotels are the only lodging available.
Texas Map
Several other options are available for gambling in Texas. Only 25 minutes away from Austin in Manor, Texas, Manor Downs provides simulcast, parimutuel horse racing. During the spring there are live thoroughbred and quarter horse races. The private restaurant and bar complete the picture and offer a great alternative to traditional gambling in Texas.
Corpus Christi Dog Track is just as exciting as any Texas casino. Greyhound racing is top dog at the race track, but there are also simulcasts of other horse and greyhound races within the country. The grandstand surrounding the simulcast area is an air-conditioned seating area that is serviced by concession stands and hostesses. The clubhouse is another ideal spot to watch races and enjoy pub-style meals. Wagering is done by either electronic machines or by licensed tellers situated all over the track.
In lieu of the limited choice of casinos in Texas there is also the Valley Race Park in Harlingen where live thoroughbred, greyhound, and simulcast races are all presented. Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, less than twenty miles from Fort Worth, is on par with Valley Race Park with simulcast racing seven days per week and live races from mid-September through mid-November. Combining all the options introduces a length list of options for gambling in Texas and the diversity of choice is can be a great activity in a state with so many things to do.
Gambling Boats In Texas Gulf
It wasn’t the most auspicious start for the Jacks or Better Casino boat.On April 15, only a week after its very first jaunt, the 155-foot yacht—which, conditions permitting, takes daily trips out of Galveston and into federal waters, where gambling is legal—scraped against a marker, causing an estimated $40,000 in cosmetic damage and knocking the ship out of commission for weeks.
We took a ride on the Jacks on May 5, the day it resumed operations. Captain Dave Kendrick, who’s been a licensed captain since 1997, gave us a tour of the bridge, the room from which he steers the ship.
“I was the captain during the accident,” he said, addressing the incident in his matter-of-fact manner. “It’s the first time that has ever happened in my career. We were coming in at 11:20 p.m., and I lost sight and confused the markers. When I figured out what was happening, it was too late…. There’s no good excuse for it, but things happen, and I’m thankful nobody got hurt.”
The incident certainly didn’t deter 60 passengers from paying $15 a pop to board the sleek vessel the day we went out. They resembled your typical casino crowd, which is to say most were Baby Boomers or older, many were wearing Crocs, and more smoked cigarettes than didn’t.
We wandered up to the top deck of the boat from the bridge. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The ship glided past shrimp boats casting their nets and container ships heading to port. Seagulls and pelicans followed in our wake, hoping to catch an early lunch.
Although it was a beautiful scene, few were taking it in. Instead, they were inside, having already claimed their seats on the mostly windowless gambling floors, ready to play.
Many people are traveling to Louisiana to gamble. Why not keep that money in Texas?
Each trip the Jacks takes out into the Gulf of Mexico lasts seven hours—an hour and a half each nine-mile trip into federal waters, plus four hours of gambling—and the best days to go out, particularly for the seasickness-prone, are when the water’s nice and calm. The ship offers two floors of colorful Vegas-style slot machines and card tables where up to 150 passengers can play games like blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat (pending Coast Guard approval, the capacity could jump to 300).
“I’m excited to try this,” one woman also enjoying the view, Kim Walden, told us. Walden owns a beach home in Galveston and, she confessed, loves gambling. She and her husband not only frequent commercial cruise lines (which all have casinos), but regularly travel to Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas’s Native American reservations. She was excited, she said, to try something closer to home. “It’s nice that finally we have something practically in our backyard.”
Casino Boats In Texas
Largely due to antiquated Bible Belt politics, gambling in Texas is illegal, with the exceptions of the lottery, horse and greyhound racing, reservation casinos, and casino boats like the Jacks or Better, which offer single-day gambling trips without having to meet the old requirement of first calling on a foreign port. These boats have served towns along the state’s coast, including Galveston, ever since being legalized in 1989, but before the Jacks’ arrival, the Oleander City had done without for a couple of years.
We wandered inside, and, finally, the moment arrived. The captain announced we were in federal waters and that tables were open. Immediately, a symphony of dings, pings and slot-machine tunes filled the air.
Gambling Boats In Corpus Christi Texas
As we watched the action, we thought of a point Henry had made while we chatted inside the bridge. “Many people are traveling to Louisiana to gamble,” he’d said. “Why not keep that money in Texas?”