Florida House Softens Stance On Blackjack At Seminole Casinos

Coming down to the back end of this week, many experts believed that there was no chance that Florida legislators would be able to come to an agreement regarding casino gambling. On Friday, the House made a surprising move that could change that outlook.

The House conceded that they would be willing to allow the Seminole Indian Tribe to continue to operate blackjack at their Hollywood Hard Rock Casino. They would also be allowed to add blackjack at their Coconut Creek Casino.

That would be the extent of the concession, however. The House wants to limit the blackjack to only Broward County, which would mean the Seminoles would have to remove the game from their Tampa casino.

"That's a very big move for us," said Rep. Bill Galvano, the House's leader in the gambling negotiations, "This is not the time in the game to just be taking nibbles. So we made the decision to make a move pretty much to the brink of where we can."

In exchange to the rights to blackjack in Broward, the Seminoles would have to agree to pay the state $200 million a year over the next fifteen years. That is actually less than they would have paid the state under a Senate plan.

"It's my feeling, based on negotiations with the tribe and the Senate, that if we are to get a resolution, (blackjack) would have to come into play," said Galvano.

The state budget must be finalized by next week, and although gambling revenue has been left out of the budget, the added revenue is needed in the state. The House also agreed on Friday to give the Seminoles exclusivity to Vegas style slots outside of Broward County.

May 2, 2009
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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