Florida Senate Approves Full Scale Casino Gambling

The Florida House and senate have two very different opinions about the future of casino gambling in the state. The Senate on Thursday, passed a Bill that would make Florida a casino gambling playground much like Las Vegas.

In a 27-11 vote, the Senate approved a Bill that would allow the Seminole Indians to bring craps, roulette, blackjack, and other Vegas style gambling to their Florida casinos. In exchange, the Seminoles would have to pay the state at least $400 million a year.

"This plan would change the future of casino gambling not only in Florida, but throughout the entire nation," said observer Timothy Westbrook, "with Florida already being a tropical destination for vacationers, the addition of full casino gambling would just heighten their tourism industry."

Before the state starts making plans to spend that $400 million annually, however, the Bill must go through the House, and that is where it will be met with cynicism. The House has their own plans for the future of casinos in Florida.

Unlike the Senate plan, the House would like to scale back gambling at the Seminole casinos. They want blackjack and baccarat removed from the casinos, and they would like to level the playing field for pari-mutuels in the state.

Currently, the pari-mutuels are struggling because they are not allowed to operate under the same hours and cannot offer the same gambling limits as the Seminoles. That would change under the House plan.

April 17, 2009
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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