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Tournaments Wrest Point is the home of Blackjack and Poker Tournaments in Tasmania. Wrest Point Hotel Casino. The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel was designed by architect Keith Wildman and built by Arthur Drysdale and opened on December 5, 1939. It was originally built in the modern casino area of Wrest Point. The hotel flourished during World War II and was sold to the oldest Australian hotel group, Federal Hotels, in March 1956. Wrest Point’s Casino floor is the home of Blackjack and Poker in Tasmania. Whilst our regular table gaming facilities are open as normal, please note that due to current redevelopment work across the property, our 2018 tournament schedule has concluded for this year. The Wrest Point property is built on Sandy Bay in the capital city of Hobart. Hobart is the main point of entry for visitors to the island. Wrest Point Casino is part of the larger Wrest Point luxury resort facility, including the hotel, a boardwalk that allows guests to walk along the River Derwent, and the usual line-up of restaurants.

• Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournament
• Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournaments
• Wrest Point Casino Poker Real Money
• Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournament

Part of Wrest Point Tasmania. Wrest Point spreads Texas Hold 'em four nights per week in the poker pit. You'll find four tables opening at 6pm Wed, Thur and 8pm on the weekends. Rake is 10% on pots over $20 but no rake on pots under $20. Rake is capped at $10 per pot regardless of the size. Never a seating charge or time fees. Go to the Casino.

The Wrest Point Hotel Casino was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of Sandy Bay in Hobart, Tasmania, on 10 February 1973.

Granting of the casino licence[edit]

The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, designed by architect Keith Wildman and built by Arthur Drysdale and opened on 5 December 1939, was originally constructed on the site of the current Wrest Point Casino.^[1] During World War II the hotel was 'booming' and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group, Federal Hotels, in March 1956.

In the 1960s, The Federal Group attempted to secure Australia's first casino license. At the time, Tasmania's natural scenery and beauty were not widely known elsewhere, and as a result the state wasn't attracting many tourists. The marketing claim was that a casino could be the draw-card that would kick-start Tasmania's tourism industry.

John Haddad, one of the company's executives at the time, was assigned the role of getting a casino license. He met with then Tasmanian PremierEric Reece and other state officials.

A state referendum was held to determine the granting of a gambling licence. The polls were very tight, especially since the question in the referendum attempted to minimise the gambling aspect of the development.

Shortly before the referendum was to be held, the Labor party, sensing they had the numbers in the parliament pushed through the legislation to legalise the casino. They did not wait for the results of the vote. When the vote was taken the hotel redevelopment was narrowly passed. Questions have since been raised about how the legislation was passed, with one member of parliament, Kevin Lyons, suspected of accepting bribes over the licence.^[2]

Development[edit]

The development of the casino included the construction of the 17-storey hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart, and the 64-metre dodecagonal prism tower remains the city's tallest building.

After the centre's opening in 1973 (after which it was known as Wrest Point Hotel Casino) the casino provided a catalyst for the nation's casino industry, with 12 additional casinos opening across the country. This included a second Federal Group casino in Tasmania, the Country Club Casino, which opened in Launceston in 1982.

The building has been extended in recent years, including the conference centre which was opened in 1984, and the boardwalk in 1996. In 2015 a 70 million dollar investment was announced, bringing five new dining outlets and more bars, a private VIP gaming room and a complete new contemporary feel across the entire casino.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy[edit]

While initially the hotel was supposed to be an entertainment complex, the casino soon took over much of the hotel; and, while the poker machines were initially not permitted, by executing successful lobbying,^[1] they now come to dominate the complex, with over 650 machines.^[3]

The owners of the hotel and the poker machines, Federal Hotels, were fined on a number of occasions for poker machines that were not functioning as programmed, and were thus in breach of the law.^[4]

In 2017, the building was protected with a heritage listing.^[1] While some saw this as significant, the decision 'angered local residents and puzzled some experts.'^[5]

2018 Tasmanian election[edit]

In the 2018 election, the opposition leader, Rebecca White, promised to remove all pokies from pubs and clubs, leaving the two casinos as the only location for pokies in the state, citing the negative health and economic impacts of poker machines.^[6] The Federal Group, who own both the casinos and the pokies licences have opposed the policy as have the Liberal government.^[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abc'Hobart's giant 'hair roller' honoured with heritage listing'. ABC News. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
2. ^patrickw@themonthly.com.au (1 March 2017). 'Tasmania got gamed'. The Monthly. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
3. ^'Best pokies venues in Tasmania'. Online Casino Sites. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
4. ^'Wrest Point Casino fined for allowing faulty poker machine to be played'. ABC News. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
5. ^'Questions raised about heritage listing of Hobart's Wrest Point Casino'. Commercial Property & Real Estate News. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
6. ^'Pokies out of Tasmanian pubs, clubs by 2023 under Labor promise'. ABC News. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
7. ^Koziol, Michael (13 December 2017). 'Tasmania could become first state to blow up the pokies under Labor plan'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2018.

External links[edit]

• Wrest Point Hotel Casino official site

While you will not find any poker cardrooms like what is found in crown or the star, there are still many ways to get your poker fix in Tassie. These include cash games at Wrest Point and Country Club or tournament players have Bullets and APL to choose from.

Due to legal regulations in Tasmania the only cash games available are at the casinos in Hobart and Launceston.

Because of the limited options in Tasmania you are very unlikely to find any sharks circling to take your money.

Unfortunately, No Limit Texas holdem is the only option except for very select infrequent Omaha games.

Wrest Point Casino

No Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games

Infrequent Tournaments

Buy in $50 – $300

Blinds $1/$3

Rake 10% up to a max of $10

Wednesday to Saturday

2 Tables

6:15pm – 3:45am

$1/$3 Blinds – Buyin $50 – $300

$2/$5 Blinds – Buyin $200 – $1000

Phone 6221 1963

You can choose to either call up the cashiers or speak to one of the poker coordinators to put your name on the list.

My personal experiences playing at Wrest Point were good with action packed games and average players.

Know going in that all players will know each other but for the most part they are not rude to or targeting newcomers, it does result in a good overall atmosphere with lots of chatting and relaxed play.

With some changes made to wrest point the poker area is not as good as it used to be but I guess casinos are there to make the most profit so I understand the change.

There are no high hand or bad beat jackpots available, players also do not earn casino rewards points while playing poker.

The Higher limit game does not start until 8:00pm Wednesday and Thursday, or 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday.

Country Club Casino

No Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games

Buy in $50 – $300

Blinds $1/$3

Rake 10% up to a max of $10

Friday and Saturday Nights

7:30pm – 2:45am

1 Table

Phone 6335 5747

Be sure to call early from 9:30am the day you are looking to play as some nights the game fills up quickly and with only one table it can be a while before a seat opens up. You can only book your seat the same day you want to play.

After a recent change there is only one table available for poker at the country club and has been cut back to only 2 nights but is the only cash game option available in Launceston.

There are no high hand or bad beat jackpots available, players also do not earn casino rewards points while playing poker

The rake is one of the best available in Australia with 10% in a pot over $20 capped at a max rake of $10 with no time charge.

Games can sometimes finish early if its part the old guys bedtimes but can also get players later some of the APL or Bullets tournaments finish.

Players are friendly and is usually filled with regulars that all no each other but no collusion from my experiences.

Dealers are ok but not as experienced as other places in Australia due to the games only running twice a week.

There are no pros here with only a few players knowing more advanced poker concepts, most just have basic knowledge and play fairly standard.

Owned by the same proprietors as the wrest point casino.

Very basic poker experience with no running it twice or even live straddles.

Bullets Poker League

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (some weekend events)

All over Tasmania

7:00pm – 11:00pm

No Limit Texas Holdem Tournaments

Limited Pot Limit Omaha Tournaments

Teams No Limit Holdem Event

New to the poker scene bullets was met with great reviews.

Bullets is a locally run operation owned by Tasmanians.

Bullets was set up by poker players that were unhappy to the current games on offer and definitely have a poker players outlook on the tournaments they set up.

With a variety of games throughout the state during the week they can be great fun to play with good people that enjoy poker but don’t have the same intensity or the experience as casino players.

Bullets also have a yearly poker series that in 2019 had a main event with a $10,000 prize pool

Promotion will be running to give player the opportunity to play at the 2020 World Series Of Poker in Las Vegas.

Be sure to checkout their website or facebook page for the current events.

At the time of writing venues include

Olde Tudor Hotel (229 Westbury Rd, Prospect)

TRC Hotel (121-131 Paterson Street, Launceston)

Grays George Town Hotel (75-77 Macquarie St, George Town)

Black Stallion Hotel (218 George Town Rd, Rocherlea)

West Ulv Recreation Ground (49 Amy St, West Ulverstone)

Burnie United Football Club (Terrylands St, Montello)

Devonport Football Club (James St, Devonport)

Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournament

St Helens Football Ground

Hamer’s Hotel (Esplanade, Strahan)

Mount Lyell Motor Inn (1-5 Orr St, Queenstown)

APL / 888PL

7 Days A Week

6:00PM Rego for 7:00PM Start (for most events, some weekend events are played during the day)

APL and 888PL are owned by the same parent companies and the games essentially run the same

APL is the worlds largest free to play poker league.

APL offers no limit texas holdem tournaments around Tasmania.

By playing APL games you can gain tickets through playing their games to their main events which have a prize pool of over 1 MILLION DOLLARS

Although they advertise themselves as a free-to-play poker league playing these tournaments does cost money if you want a chance to win.

By purchasing merchandise, you get extra chips added to your stack, due to Tasmanian regulations they cannot make payment required to enter the tournament.

APL events are self-shuffled which required players to shuffle the cards when they are on the dealer button.

Like a large number of poker players I started playing poker through APL and is a great way for beginners to hone their skills and learn the rules of the game without outlaying and losing a large amount of cash learning.

Check the APL website to find out the games currently available

At the time of writing APL games are held at

Ulverstone Golf Club (West Ulverstone)

Granada Tavern (Berriedale)

Newstead Hotel (Newstead)

Molly Malones Irish Pub (Devonport)

Hotel Valem (Moonah)

Dewat Licensed Restaurant (Bellerive)

Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournaments

Tall Timbers Hotel (Smithton)

Deloraine Hotel (Deloraine)

Hobart Workers Club (Hobart)

New Norfolk RSL Club (New Norfolk)

The Alexander Hotel (Devonport)

Riverside Hotel (Riverside)

Burnie RSL (Burnie)

The Derwent Tavern (Bridgewater)

The River Arms (Ulverstone)

Scottdale RSL Community Club (Scottsdale)

Online

Australian law prohibits poker sites from being available to Australians so Tasmania is the same as the other states in this respect.

There are sites that still illegally offer this but normally through bitcoin transactions and are normally not the most reputable sites out there so certainly proceed with caution.

Home Games

Unfortunately, Tasmanian law is different and stricter than other states in regards to home games so larger home games are not generally organised.

Wrest Point Casino Poker Real Money

Some people still chose to have home games in Tassie but it is normally just between close friends.

The police raided the last place that I regularly played home games with everyone questioned and IDs recorded.

Wrest Point Casino Poker Tournament

I don’t know all the legal details of participating or hosting home games in Tasmania so I do not feel comfortable making recommendations so if possible ask a lawyer (not one that is going to cost you a bucket load of money) before hosting a game yourself.