Maine Holdem Poker Club
Crisp, scenic and a quaint, Maine is home to some of the best lobster bisque west of the Atlantic, a myriad of resort and beach communities and exactly two casinos with legal real money poker gambling. No, poker betting gambling in Maine is not quite as popular as it is in say New Jersey or Nevada, but that doesn’t mean residents of the Pine Tree State don’t need to satisfy their real cash poker gambling urge in lawful Texas Hold’em and other poker games.
Maine's only live poker room has exciting card action for players of all skill level and is open daily. Be sure to present your my choice ® card to earn comps and special offers. M a i n e ' s o n l y l i v e p o k e r r o o m.
In fact, due to Maine’s extremely cold climate, cozying up alongside a fireplace and participating in a real money poker home game in ME has become a very popular activity among gambling locals, especially during those seemingly endless winter months in the Pine Tree State.
- The Brook’s new poker room features 20 high end tables in a private poker space, ideal for honing your skills with every amenity at your fingertips. Players can enjoy myriad tournaments or the adrenaline of cash games, all dealt by experienced dealers. Tournament entries and seats at cash games can be reserved through Poker Atlas.
- Find the best Maine poker tournaments with our comprehensive list of daily and weekly poker tournaments. Browse through our list of poker tournaments to find the times, days, buy-ins,.
Not surprisingly, Maine hasn’t weighed in on the online poker legislation and Internet poker regulation debate. To date, no real money poker website bills have been passed and no Internet poker for real cash legislation has been brought before the ME committee. Maine takes a very neutral approach towards both offline and Internet poker legal gambling. The real money gambling laws ME State does have in place are loose and open to interpretation, which leads some to believe that if the government is ever presented with online poker legislation to regulate the real cash Internet poker market in Maine, poker websites would stand at least a reasonable chance of being enacted into law.
Make Vacationland that much better when you sign up for a real money US poker site account. Gamblers in Maine will have no problems with our sites.
Maine – A Long Uphill Road
Quick Jump
Maine Holdem Poker Club Poker
- 4 The Facts
Maine, although big, is sparsely populated. Its approximately 1,300,000 residents pale in comparison to other states who already have legit Internet gambling. For example, New Jersey’s 8.8 million or even Nevada’s 2.76 million. In fact, there are probably just enough poker gambling fans in Maine to place pressure upon state legislators to regulate online poker and bring ME residents some lawful real money poker websites of their own.
The problem is, there are very few regulated live real cash poker cardrooms in Maine for ME gambling fans to do their legal betting at, and before online poker is regulated and legal Internet poker brought to Maine, at least one real money poker cardroom would likely have to align with an Internet poker operating partner that offered online poker.
If too many legit real cash poker cardrooms open in Maine offering residents Texas Hold’em poker and other games, they would likely end up competing with one another over the state’s sparse population. In lieu of this, it’s very possible that online poker and Internet poker websites will not be regulated in Maine until a federal level online poker bill making real money poker websites lawful is passed.
The good news is that the ME state doesn’t seem to necessarily be against land based and Internet real cash poker and gambling and that finally, legit real money poker can be found in at least one location in Maine.
Can Players from Maine Play Poker Online?
With that said, there is no specific law that prevents players from cranking up the heat, firing up their computer and logging onto one of many poker websites where players from Maine can play real money Internet poker. Take a look at our page: we have covered where you can play poker online for real money by state, so you can see which websites are available to the people of Maine.
- U. S. Poker Site
- Compatibillity
- Editor Rating
- Deposit Bonus
- Very player friendly
- Generous cashback
- Great mobile play
Is Online Poker Legal in Maine?
To be clear, no state Internet poker legislation has been passed that officially legalizes online poker in the state of Maine. We’re not and don’t claim to be a legal authority on the subject of ME poker websites, which is why we’ve comprised a list of notable statutes and information pertaining to the legality of real money Internet poker, land-based poker and gambling in general within the Pine Tree state.
We feel strongly that no matter what you ultimately decide to do when it comes to gambling on Internet poker websites, it is best to have all the information you can gather at your fingertips before making a decision to hit the virtual real money poker felt and start betting from ME.
- Gambling in Maine is defined as risking something of value, including real money, on the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence. Maine’s rather vague definition of gambling falls directly in line with that of most other states whose legal poker and gambling situation is very unclear.
- A gambling device is any device, machine or equipment that is used or usable in the playing phases of any gambling activity, including real cash poker video machines. In other words, slot machines, card shufflers and computers can all be considered gambling or betting devices in Maine.
- Games of chance are defined more rigidly. In so long as something of value is risked in a contest where the outcome is determined at least partly by chance and the luck element cannot be eliminated through the application of skill, then the game in question is considered a game of chance. Real money poker gambling would fall under this category.
- Real cash poker betting players get off easy though. Participating in a home real money poker game of anything like Texas Hold’em poker, regardless of the atmosphere is not a criminal offense, in so long as the player is of an age that it is legal in ME to take part in gambling at. However, running underground real cash poker games that reap gambling and betting poker profits for the owner is an offense.
- To date, there have been no cases in Maine where the exact penalty for running such a non-legit poker game has been determined. It at least appears that laws pertaining to home real money poker games are not strictly enforced.
To read more about Maine’s gambling and poker betting statutes, rules and regulations, please check out the Maine Gambling Control Board [1].
The Facts
The History of Gambling in Maine
Maine doesn’t have quite the exciting history of gambling and poker betting as prominent poker gambling states like Nevada, or even nearby ones like Connecticut. But to the surprise of most, Maine’s gambling history dates all the way back to the Colonial Era. During that time, lotteries and raffles were held throughout the state allowing the citizens of ME to take part in real money gambling, much like they were in the other 12 colonies, with many of them persisting and growing throughout the 1800s.
In the late 1800s casinos and legal real cash poker rooms in Maine were being built alongside trolley lines in populated cities like Portland. And in 1973, Maine was among the first states to regulate betting on a statewide lottery.
Gambling on horseracing, while not as widespread in Maine as in other states (largely due to its climate), is a popular tourist attraction for visitors to ME who like the idea of real money gambling. Maine is home to the well-regarded Scarborough Downs. Residing on ME State’s southern coast, the Downs is an attraction where visitors can root for and wager real cash on their favorite horse as they fly around New England’s fastest track. To sweeten its appeal, in 2004 voters approved a proposal that would allow slot machines at gambling racetracks.
Bingo is also an extremely popular form of real money betting within the state of Maine. The tribal owned Penobscot High Stakes BINGO is one of the largest and most prestigious bingo halls in the nation, boasting top prizes of up to $250,000.
But it wouldn’t be until very recently that Maine would offer what tens-of-thousands have wanted for years: a commercial casino with a real money poker gambling room.
Maine has a thriving land-based poker room and casino scene but does not seem to be interested in approving online poker anytime soon.
Regulated Gambling Options in Maine
There are exactly two real cash casinos in Maine: The Hollywood Casino in Bangor [2] and the newer Oxford Casino in Oxford[3]. The Hollywood Casino only introduced table games into the mix in 2012. As of the time of writing, real money betting players who visit the casino can enjoy blackjack, roulette, craps, and yes – real money poker.
The Oxford Casino is the only modern regulated commercial casino in Maine. It opened its doors in 2012 and features classic betting games like slots, blackjack, craps and roulette.
It is expected that the gambling presence in Maine will only continue to grow over the coming years with more legal poker destinations opening up to serve Maine’s poker betting fans. Evidence supports this claim, as revenues from commercial casinos and real cash poker rooms grew by a staggering 66.9% from 2011 to 2012 alone[4].
But given Maine’s spartan population, the real cash poker offline and Internet poker gambling industry will likely only be able to grow so much. Still, it’s good to know that gambling and poker in Maine is alive and thriving in the Pine Tree state.
The Future of Regulated Online Gambling in Maine
The prospect of online gambling and Internet poker coming to Maine anytime soon is a long shot, although it’s a bit more likely than before that lawful real money poker websites could open up to betting customers soon. Recall, Maine state regulated gambling and Internet poker relies on the presence of brick and mortar casinos and real cash poker rooms that offer table games and poker variants like Texas Hold’em poker. Without them, online gambling poker website software providers don’t have a place to set up shop.
The presence of at least one casino and real cash poker gambling room that offers both table games and poker, combined with the Maine government’s generally passive stance on casino and real money poker gambling, leads some to believe that online gambling and Internet poker will one day be regulated by the state of Maine.
The Bottom Line
Believe it or not, gambling offline and at Internet poker websites for real cash is thriving in Maine. Within the past 18 months Maine’s two land based casinos began offering table games to gambling customers (one of them real money poker.) While not a highly populated state, Maine does attract a ton of tourists, many of whom are interested in gambling on legal poker games. And to date, the state of ME brings in nearly $30 million worth of tax revenue from real cash gambling, much of which goes to essential services such as healthcare and agriculture.
Maine Holdem Poker Club Tournament
But is all of this enough to generate interest in an online poker bill and regulated legal real money Internet poker websites in Maine? Maybe, but without interstate Internet poker compacts and big-name partners, Maine would not be able to survive in the online poker market because its real cash Internet poker player pool would be far too small. And it seems that for at least now, the Maine state government is more than happy generating substantial revenue from its brick and mortar casinos rather than from real money Internet poker gambling in ME.
References
[1] ↑Maine Gambling Control Board
[2] ↑Hollywood Casino at Bangor
[3] ↑Oxford Casino
[4] ↑A Look at the Fastest Growing Commercial Casino Markets in the United States
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You don’t have many clearly legal options playing Texas holdem poker in
Maine. The entire state only has one poker room offering four tables.
That being said, this poker room is great and offers a weekly tournament as
well as no limit Texas holdem cash game action whenever they’re open. You’ll be
treated like you would in any other poker room in the country, except for maybe
the Las Vegas rooms, and the staff and management are excellent.
The state has only been recently opened to gaming with legislation being
passed in 2012 to allow poker and table games. Previously the Hollywood casino
only offered slots, yet they expanded into poker and other table games like
blackjack and roulette once this was legalised.
Although this is the only room offering poker now, more casinos are opening
in the state and it’s likely that once the game starts growing in popularity
these venues will also offer poker rooms.
Although this will mean some competition for the Hollywood, it’s great for
the game and poker economy in Maine. It’ll mean more amateurs players, better
value in cash games, and larger scores for those lucky enough to ride out the
natural variance and do well in tournaments.
Other Gambling Games
In general, you can gamble on most things in Maine at the state licensed
casinos, and they also allow off track betting on horse and dog racing at tracks
that are regulated by the Maine State Harness Racing Commission.
The state also offers the lottery and you’ll be able to play in charity based
games of chance and luck such as bingo and raffles. Even though there are
multiple native Indian tribes and lands in the state they aren’t currently
permitted to operate casinos, which is kind of strange considering that this is
the only place casinos can run in most other states.
Some attempts to get legislation passed to allow for native Indian
reservations to open casinos have been attempted, but these have so far been
unsuccessful. This may change soon which would be a good thing as it would mean
more Texas holdem poker options for players in this state.
Online Poker
Online poker is not yet regulated in the state of Maine and therefore you
can’t play on a local online licensed poker room. We’ve heard some reports of
players playing poker on offshore poker sites from within Maine, however this is
a bit of a grey area legally and you could end up in quite a bit of trouble if
you do this. We certainly wouldn’t recommend it.
Most of the larger online poker sites have a blanket ban on US players,
unless they operate a state based site, so you would also be breaking terms and
conditions of the poker operator if you were to play on their site from Maine.
It’s likely that the state will regulate online poker within the next five to 10
years, which is a great thing for players. The big tipping point in this
happening will be if New York regulates online play. Being a large state and
close to Maine this will certainly have a knock-on effect in the region. So,
you’ll be able to see plenty of light at the end of the tunnel if you want to
play online and live in Maine.
Home Games
Maine Holdem Poker Club Rules
Like most states in the US you can find private and home games in Maine. You
need to use common sense and be smart, but if you know where to look and who to
ask finding a safe game isn’t too hard.
Start by asking other Texas holdem players you know and check at your local
bars.
Local Options
Maine Holdem Poker Club Leaderboard
If you live in Maine, you at least have one decent option in Bangor to play
some poker. If you’re in the southern part of the state, you can always skip
over into New Hampshire to play poker as well.
In the north and west you can also enter Canada to play poker, including
online poker, which is always a good thing. So even though there’s only one room
in the state you should still have plenty of options available to be playing
some live or online poker quite quickly.
The state has a generally decent approach to gaming so more options should
open up soon, and online play should eventually be available. It’s just a bit of
a waiting game at the moment in this respect.
In the meantime, enjoy live poker action in Bangor, and make sure you spread
the word about the great poker games that are available there. Together, we can
make sure that poker continues to thrive here and in the rest of the United
States.
List of Maine Poker Rooms
Here is our compiled list of all the poker rooms you can find in the state of
Maine:
Hollywood Casino Bangor
- Location: Bangor, Maine
- Hours: Open daily from 8am until 3am
- Tables: 4
- Games: This poker room runs a weekly no limit Texas holdem tournament on
Saturday at 7pm with a buy in of $90. If you’re looking for a cash game, you’ll
find $1 / $2 and $2 / $5 no limit Texas holdem tables running. Sometimes if
there’s player demand they run limit Texas holdem or Omaha cash games. - Ambience: The colors in this poker room will really smack you in the face
when you first arrive. The beige felt tables and walls are nice and modern, but
what stands out and adds to the room is the colorful carpets which are
predominantly red and match with the chairs in the room. The room itself is
completely no smoking and they have TVs placed around so you can stay up to date
with all the latest sports scores while you play. - Hospitality: You’ll receive cocktail and food service while you play in this
poker room so you need never miss a hand. On top of this they offer comps for
players through the Marquee Rewards program and run a series of jackpots and
promotions including a progressive bonus prize when you a four of a kind,
straight flush or royal flush. - Players: You’ll come across a good mix of players in this poker room with the
standard of play being quite good. Poker is lacking in Maine and this is the
only option for live play so there will be some solid regulars at the table most
of the time. If you want the best and softest action, visit on a weekend
evening. Things will be at their best action wise on Saturday nights when the
weekly no limit Texas holdem tournament is running. From all reports the staff
and dealers are great in this room and the overall vibe is fun and welcoming.
Conclusion
While Maine only has one licensed poker room, you can travel into Canada or
to a southern state to play Texas holdem as well. You can also find local
private games in many cities in the state so the nearest Texas holdem game isn’t
far away.