Negotiators agree on Indian gaming deal
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Legislative negotiators agreed on what Gov. Charlie Crist called a “great” deal to expand gambling at Seminole Indian casinos Wednesday, some six hours after their talks were on the brink of collapse.
Both sides made concessions. The House accepted a broader gaming expansion than many of its members wanted. The Senate agreed to less than it had been pushing for.
The agreement has the potential to generate millions of dollars for state coffers that have been shrinking due the faltering economy.
The next questions are whether both chambers will pass the compromise when it comes to a vote Friday and then if the tribe will accept it. A Seminole spokesman said it was under review.
“I’m quite hopeful about it,” Crist said. “This is a great victory for the children of Florida and for education.”
One issue quickly settled was what to do with a minimum of $150 million annually the state expects to gain from the deal. It would go into the state’s Education Enhancement Trust Fund, that pays for such things as college scholarships, school construction and other education needs at all levels.
Rep. Bill Galvano, the House’s gaming negotiator, said the Seminoles will be hard pressed to pass up the deal but acknowledged many of his members will disapprove.
“There are those members who just have a complete aversion to anything that has to do with gaming,” Galvano said. “There will be ‘no’ votes.”
Crist has been a frequent visitor to the talks and was on hand as Galvano, R-Bradenton, and Senate Ways and Means Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, resolved their differences.
The governor previously negotiated a compact acceptable to the tribe, but the Florida Supreme Court nullified it, ruling the Legislature must approve any deal with the Seminoles. He said the legislative proposal compares favorably with his deal.
It would permit banked card games such as blackjack and baccarat at the tribe’s three Broward County casinos and one in Tampa. Banked games would not be allowed at other facilities in Immokalee, Brighton and Coconut Creek. Las Vegas style slot machines and no-limit poker would be permitted at all seven sites.
To help pari-mutuels compete with the tribal casinos, the agreement includes lowering the tax rate from 50 percent to 35 percent on slot machines at horse and dog tracks and jai ali frontons in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, the only places where they are legal.
Pari-mutuels also would get higher poker betting limits and be able to race thoroughbred horses at night. The South Florida tracks, though, could add blackjack only through legislative and voter approval.