Associated Press

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points and Alijah Martin added 16 as No. 18 Florida beat Wake Forest 75-58 in the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday.

Florida (7-0) opened the second half with a 10-0 run to add to its 32-28 halftime lead. Cayton scored six points in the first half and 15 in the second half.

The Gators trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before going on a 12-2 run and taking a 23-22 lead with 4:46 remaining in the half. Florida’s charge was led by Will Richard, who had 10 points in the half and finished with 14.

Wake Forest fell to 6-2.

Takeaways

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons started the game strong and led by as many as nine points in the first half. Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth each had 15 points to lead the way.

Florida: After a slow start, the Gators stormed back in a team effort victory. Florida had four players score in double digits.

Key moment

Off a Wake Forest turnover, Florida guard Will Richard drove the lane in transition and scored on a layup to give the Gators a 23-22 lead after trailing by as many as nine points.

Key stat

Florida shot 35% from the field in the first half and 44% in the second. For the game, the Gators attempted 27 free throws, compared to Wake Forest’s 15 attempts.

Up next

The Gators will face Wichita State in final of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Getting ready to settle down and watch the games? While you watch the Dolphins face off against the Packers, the Cowboys battle the Giants or the Bears take on the Lions, you might want to put a little money on the results. Can you, legally, in Florida?

Yes, but not everywhere.

Is sports betting legal in Florida?

Yes, but only at casinos on Seminole Tribe lands or through the Seminole Tribe’s mobile app.

In 2021, the Seminole Tribe struck a 30-year deal (known as a gaming compact) with the state to allow sports betting on tribal lands and also allow anyone in Florida to gamble with a mobile app hosted on tribal land, in exchange for paying the state about $20 billion, including $2.5 billion over the first five years. The contract also allowed the Seminoles to add craps and roulette, previously prohibited, to their Florida casinos. Slot machines were already allowed there but illegal anywhere else.

After that, there were years of legal battles between the Seminole Tribe and a group of pari-mutuel companies who challenged the compact, but the challenges consistently lost and all parties finally came to an agreement in October.

What sports betting apps are legal in Florida?

The Hard Rock Bet app (iOS | Android) from the Seminole Tribes is the only approved mobile betting app in Florida.

There are online apps that claim to be based on offshore locations and therefore legal in Florida, but they’re on shaky legal ground.

How can I bet on sports in Florida?

You have three legal options.

1. Place in-person bets at one of the Seminole Tribe-controlled casinos where sports gambling has been launched.
2. Bet online with the Seminole Tribes’ Hard Rock Bet app or the Hard Rock Bet website.
3. Take a gambling cruise that travels three miles out into international waters. Which is sort of fuzzy, legally speaking, but it is an option.

What forms of gambling are currently legal in Florida?

Broadly speaking, Florida currently allows:

• Sports gambling at Seminole-Tribe-run casinos or through the Seminole tribes’ app.
• Some pari-mutuel gambling, including horse racing and cardrooms licensed by the state. Jai alai was added to the Hard Rock Bet app this year as part of the Seminole Tribes’ agreement.
• Casino gambling on lands belonging to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
• State-run lotteries and interstate games such as the Powerball and Mega Millions.
• Bingo, raffles and drawings of chance if run by a “charitable, nonprofit, or veterans’ organization.”
• Small social games.

Can I bet on sports among friends in Florida?

Not legally. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to bet on “any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast.” It’s even worse to be the person taking the bets, which is a third-degree felony.

There’s some argument over where offshore betting websites fall here, but Florida bans all betting on sports.

Except, for some reason, bowling. Bowling tournaments are exempted from this and are perfectly welcome.

Playing cards and other penny-ante games, defined as “a game or series of games of poker, pinochle, bridge, rummy, canasta, hearts, dominoes, or mah-jongg in which the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game do not exceed $10 in value” are allowed.

What is the legal age for gambling in Florida?

The minimum gambling age is 21 for casino games and 18 for lottery games, poker, bingo, and pari-mutuel betting such as horse racing and jai alai.

LABELLE, Fla. (WSVN) — Authorities seek the public’s help in their search for two 4-year-old boys out of Hendry County, Florida.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an AMBER Alert for Jermaine Crocker and Tremaine Crocker, late Wednesday night.

Investigators said the children were last seen in the area of the 400 block of Withlacoochee Avenue in LaBelle.

Both boys stand 3 feet, 5 inches tall, weight around 24 pounds, and have black hair and brown eyes.

Jermaine was last seen wearing a multi-colored shirt, brown shorts, and red and blue tennis shoes. Tremaine was last seen wearing a multi-colored shirt, blue jean shorts and gray Crocs.

Authorities said they may be in the company of 47-year-old Ralph Garvin.

Garvin stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs around 155 pounds, and has black hair and black eyes. He was last seen wearing all black clothing, including a black hoodie.

Officials advise anyine who spots them to refrain from approaching them and immediately contact law enforcement.

Officials urge anyone with information on their whereabouts to call FDLE’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 1-888-FL MISSING (1-888-356-4774), the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office at 863-674-5600 or 911.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.