State gambling expansion still hinges on tribe
By Michael Vasquez and Mary Ellen Klas
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
© 2009 Miami Herald
Tuesday - June 16, 2009
HIALEAH — Fresh from signing the Legislature’s wide-ranging gambling expansion bill, Gov. Charlie Crist paid a visit Monday to one of that bill’s biggest beneficiaries — historic Hialeah Park.
Under the bill signed by Crist, Hialeah Park — which hasn’t hosted a horse race since 2001 — will be allowed to offer live races again, while also opening a poker room.
After two years of racing, Hialeah can install lucrative Las Vegas-style slot machines — a remarkable turnaround for a National Historic Landmark that until recently was at serious risk of being torn down, despite its majestic beauty.
But Hialeah’s comeback is not completely assured. Legislative language outlining the track’s right to reopen as a slots casino is tucked into a larger bill that lays out the guidelines for a new gambling agreement between the Seminole Tribe and the state.
The tribe has yet to sign off on that agreement, and there have been rumblings that the Seminoles are unhappy with some portions of the Legislature’s bill — portions that could increase the tribe’s operational costs and competition.
State Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who chaired the state House of Representatives’ committee that oversaw new gaming legislation, pledged legislators would “move swiftly to ratify the compact, once finalized with the tribe.”
Galvano said Crist has until Aug. 31 to finalize the terms of the deal, adding, “I would recommend as soon as the deal is complete, we go back to Tallahassee and ratify.”
The Legislature’s version of the agreement would allow the tribe to offer blackjack and other table games at its two Hard Rock resorts in Hollywood and Tampa, plus two other casinos in Broward. Three Seminole casinos elsewhere in the state could offer slots, but no table games.
In return, the tribe would pay the state at least w$150 million a year, including $300 million the first year.
Crist is expected to immediately begin negotiations with the tribe, despite initial claims by Seminole attorney Barry Richard that the deal was a non-starter because it would require the tribe to continue payments to the state even if the Legislature or voters approved similar games for tracks outside South Florida.
Crist said Monday he was “optimistic” about reaching a deal by the deadline. The tribe declined comment on the issue. If Crist and the tribe come to terms, the compact agreement would return to the Legislature for a final vote.
But if Crist and the tribe can’t reach a deal, Hialeah Park’s reopening could be torpedoed. Hialeah would still have its horse-racing permit, but not the right to install slots. Slots revenue will be key in financing the extensive improvements the race track needs. Owner John Brunetti has pledged a $100 million makeover for Hialeah Park.
“Obviously in any type of business venture, you want to have all of the loose ends tied in,” Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina said. “And that’s one of the loose ends that needs to be tied in.”
Besides Hialeah, other parimutuel facilities across the state also have a lot at stake in the governor’s negotiations with the tribe.
All parimutuels, whether they have slots or not, are allowed to add higher-stakes poker games under the Legislature’s bill. But in order for the parimutuel tax break and higher poker limits to take effect, the Seminoles and the state must ink a deal.
If gaming deal fails, Seminole tribe to take it to feds
Billions for Florida schools at stake
By Mary Wozniak
mwozniak@news-press.com
© 2009 Fort Myers news-press
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
If the Seminole Tribe and the state cannot agree on a new gaming compact, the tribe will go to the federal government to seek the deal they want, the tribe's attorney said Monday.
If that happens, the state could lose billions in revenue for Florida schools.
Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday signed a proposed gaming compact passed by the state Legislature on May 6. Now the governor has until Aug. 31 to negotiate a final compact with the tribe.
The 15-year proposed compact calls for the tribe to provide a guaranteed $150 million minimum annual payment to the state, for a total of $2.3 billion.
"If we cannot successfully achieve a compact, then we will seek federal authorization directly to engage in (Class III) gaming," tribe attorney Barry Richard said Monday.
The Seminoles already have gaming at seven casinos, but the tribe wants the exclusive right to upgrade to Class III gaming, which includes blackjack and baccarat.
Federal regulations state that tribes do not have to give any money to the state, except in exchange for such exclusivity.
But the proposed compact would bar blackjack and baccarat from three of the casinos: Immokalee, Big Cypress and Brighton. Immokalee expanded its casino last December to include blackjack.
That's only partial exclusivity, tribal attorneys say, so the $150 million per year may not be justified.
If an impasse is reached, the Seminoles can ask the Department of the Interior to issue special procedures to govern the tribe's gaming.
That would bypass the state and the state would get zero money for schools.
"As this is a fluid, on-going process, both parties will most likely offer amendments for consideration," said Sterling Ivey, the governor's spokesman. Crist looks forward to reaching an agreement before Aug. 31, he said.
The tribe was happy with an earlier gaming compact negotiated by Crist in 2007, which provided a $100 million per year payment to the state in return for the Seminoles operating blackjack and baccarat at all their casinos.
The state Supreme Court ruled that the governor did not have the authorization to negotiate, but the ruling did not invalidate the compact, Richard said.
The compact had federal approval, he said. "It remains in effect until appropriate federal agencies or courts say it is no longer effective."
Federal agencies have not intervened, giving the state and the Seminoles the opportunity to work out their differences, Richard said.
"Either we'll have a new compact with the state or procedures issued by the federal government," he said.