Three Plans Too Many For Expanded Gambling In Florida

The issue of expanded gambling in the state of Florida came up late in 2007 when Governor Charlie Crist signed a gambling compact with the Seminole Indians. The compact allowed for the Seminoles to bring Vegas style slots, blackjack, and baccarat to their casinos in exchange for revenue sharing with the state.

After the compact was signed, legislators in Florida quickly decided that they felt slighted by not being involved in the decision making process. They brought their case to the state Supreme Court, where the governor's compact was voided.

Now the legislators have decided to try and conquer the issue on their own, and they are failing miserably. There is no sense of direction from members of the House, Senate, or the governor.

They each have their own sense of direction, but they are vastly different from the others. The Senate has proposed full scale Vegas style casino gambling. The House wants to tone down the casino gambling in the state, and the governor simply wants to re-invent his original compact with the Seminoles.

"If these lawmakers do not get on the same page, the session is going to end and there will be no progress made with the gambling issue," said observer William Neglestre, "They (lawmakers) have spent so much time this session on the gambling issue, yet they are not even close in their thinking."

Today and tomorrow the Senate and House will begin debating and tweaking their own plans. The Senate will discuss two proposed Bills today, and the House will take up their Bill on Friday.

In the meantime, Governor Crist has been given the go ahead to re-start negotiations with the Seminoles. The hopes of many lawmakers is the Seminoles will step up with more up front money for the state in exchange for the same concessions they were granted in the original compact.

April 16, 2009
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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