Seminole Gambling Compact Complete In Florida, Or Is It?

The Seminole Indian Tribe of Florida and Governor Charlie Crist have never had a real problem negotiating a gambling compact. They agreed to a compact back in 2007, but legislators in the state turned the compact away.

Now, it appears as though the governor and the Seminole Tribe may be setting themselves up for a similar disappointment. On Friday, according to several people with knowlege of the negotiations, the governor and the Seminoles once again reached a compact agreement.

The deal had to made before a Monday deadline, and the Seminoles and Governor Crist have beaten that deadline. The only problem is that once again, the agreement may not be acceptable to legislators in the state that have taken a hard lined stance on what they would approve.

Representative Bob Galvano has been leading the charge from the House, which wants only limited gambling expansion in the state. A couple of sticking points still exist, with the Seminoles turning away some of the requests of legislators. Now, it will be up to the legislators whether or not they want to give in further.

Galvano has already said that the state would rather let the issue be decided federally than to concede on some issues with the compact they have approved. At this late date, however, time is running out, and there is a chance that they will have change of heart at a special session that would be called by the governor, probably at some time in October.

One of the issues at hand is the amount of money the Seminoles would pay the state should they lose exclusivity of their table games. The Seminoles want the state's cut to shrink immediately should there be expansion at state pari-mutuels, while the state would accept lower payments on a sliding scale.

August 29, 2009
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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