Seminoles Not Likely To Accept Florida Casino Gambling Deal

Lawmakers in the state of Florida have been battling for months over ways to expand casino gambling. After all of the back and forth drama, finally the legislature settled on a deal that is waiting for Governor Charlie Crist's signature.

There is only one problem, the deal still needs to be approved by the Seminole Indian tribe. On Thursday, a lawyer for the tribe acknowledged that it is unlikely the Seminoles would agree to the deal as it is written.

"I feel firmly that the tribe couldn't live with it and the Department of the Interior wouldn't approve it," said Barry Richard, attorney for the Seminole tribe. He did, however, state that there was room for negotiation in the deal.

The state of Florida has their backs to the wall with this deal. They desperately need the revenue from the casino deal to help pay for education and budget shortcomings. They insist, however, that they would rather take nothing at all, rather then renegotiate completely.

"If we're talking about filling in details or making a policy tweak, that's not going to be very difficult," said Representative Bill Galvano, as reported in the Miami Herald, "But if the tribe expects that we would come back to the Legislature with major structural changes, I think the more appealing route would be to just let the feds enforce."

June 12, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!