{"id":43955,"date":"2017-01-19T15:09:51","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T23:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=43955"},"modified":"2017-01-19T15:54:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T23:54:36","slug":"florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Gambling Bill Sponsor, State Senator Bill Galvano, Denies Conflict of Interest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida State Senator Bill Galvano<\/a> (R-Bradenton), sponsor of the state\u2019s new comprehensive gambling expansion bill, is under fire over failing to declare a possible conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\"Florida
Florida State Senator Bill Galvano admits he worked for Fontainebleau owner Turnberry, but insists this had nothing to do with helping them get a gambling license. His gaming bill, meanwhile, is about doing what\u2019s best for the state, he said. (Image: Sarasota Herald-Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Associated Press reported Thursday that Galvano recently worked for luxury real-estate company Turnberry Associates, the company that owns the historic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. It\u2019s believed Turnberry has been angling for a gambling license, because it wants to operate slots machines at the hotel.<\/p>\n

Political Donations<\/h2>\n

Galvano\u2019s bill covers a wide range of gambling issues affecting the state, from DFS regulation to its ongoing negotiations with the Seminole tribal casino operator. But its most radical target is the expansion of slots into counties where they have been approved by voters. That includes Miami-Dade Country.<\/p>\n

Campaign finance records also show that the Fontainebleau contributed almost $2.3 million in political donations in Florida over the past few years, including $800,000 to the Republican Party of Florida and $90,000 in to political committees run by Galvano himself.<\/p>\n

Galvano acknowledged to the AP that he worked for Turnberry Associates in his capacity as a lawyer on a “commercial transaction,” but that was three years ago, he said.<\/p>\n

“The reality is whatever is in that bill … is going to be what I believe is the best path for the state of Florida, where I think the Senate wants to go based on the last several years,” he added. “And my legal work has no impact on it.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He refused to go into the nature of his work for Turnberry for reasons of attorney-client privilege, but emphasized that it had nothing to do with the company\u2019s pursuit of a gaming license.<\/p>\n

Three Billion Dollar Deal<\/h2>\n

Galvano is a highly influential senator when it comes to gambling issues. He was one of the architects of the 2011 compact between the state and the Seminoles, which afforded the tribe exclusivity on \u201cbanked\u201d games like blackjack, in return for $1 billion to be paid to the state over five years.<\/p>\n

His new bill would resurrect a proposal, negotiated last year between the Seminoles and Florida Governor Rick Scott<\/a>, that would give the tribe the exclusive right to offer craps and roulette in exchange for a revenue sharing deal worth $3 billion to the state over seven years. It would be the biggest casino revenue-sharing deal the US has ever seen.<\/p>\n

This move would pave the way for the expansion of blackjack, previously the domain of the Seminoles, into pari-mutuel venues outside tribal lands, as well as the expansion of slots elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida State Senator Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), sponsor of the state\u2019s new comprehensive gambling expansion bill, is under fire over failing to declare a possible conflict of interest. The Associated Press reported Thursday that Galvano recently worked for luxury real-estate company Turnberry Associates, the company that owns the historic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. It\u2019s believed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":44002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida Gambling Bill Sponsor Bill Galvano Denies Conflict of Interest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Florida State Senator Bill Galvano previously worked for Fontainebleau Hotel owner Turnberry, which now wants to offer slots at the property.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida Gambling Bill Sponsor Bill Galvano Denies Conflict of Interest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Florida State Senator Bill Galvano previously worked for Fontainebleau Hotel owner Turnberry, which now wants to offer slots at the property.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T23:09:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-19T23:54:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-State-Senator-Bill-Galvano.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"737\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"552\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/\",\"name\":\"Florida Gambling Bill Sponsor Bill Galvano Denies Conflict of Interest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-State-Senator-Bill-Galvano.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-19T23:09:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-19T23:54:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Florida State Senator Bill Galvano previously worked for Fontainebleau Hotel owner Turnberry, which now wants to offer slots at the property.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-bill-galvano-denies-conflict-of-interest\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-State-Senator-Bill-Galvano.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Florida-gambling-bill-sponsor-State-Senator-Bill-Galvano.jpg\",\"width\":737,\"height\":552,\"caption\":\"Florida State Senator Bill Galvano admits he worked for Fontainebleau owner Turnberry, but insists this had nothing to do with helping them get a gambling license. 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