House Speaker\u00a0Richard Corcoran, this week, called it \u201ca heavy, heavy lift,\u201d while Senator\u00a0Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton), sponsor of the Senate Bill,\u00a0said he \u201ccouldn\u2019t guarantee we\u2019ll ultimately have a final resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI stand firm in the Senate position and will not negotiate against myself,\u201d he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBoth bills agree on one thing. They are seeking a revenue-sharing agreement from the Seminoles that would be worth $3 billion to the state over seven years, the biggest deal of its kind in the US.<\/p>\n
This is the same financial agreement Governor Rick Scott was able to negotiate with the tribe in 2015 but the legislature failed to ratify the proposal last year.<\/p>\n
Three Billion Bucks<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Scott deal offered the Seminoles craps and roulette in return for relinquishing their monopoly on blackjack and slots. The House bill allows them to retain blackjack and slots exclusivity but won\u2019t budge on the craps and roulette.<\/p>\n
The Senate bill, meanwhile, offers craps and roulette, but proposes to expand blackjack and slots throughout the state to a degree that\u2019s unpalatable to the Seminoles. Either way, the tribe feels it is not getting enough bang for its three billion bucks.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\nIn a letter to legislative leaders last month, Seminole Tribal Council chairman\u00a0Marcellus Osceola said that, while the House bill was \u201cless objectionable,\u201d neither bills made \u201ceconomic sense for the tribe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe tribe\u2019s negotiating position was strengthened late last year by a federal court judgment that the state had voided its previous compact with the tribe by permitting cardrooms and horse and dog tracks to offer banked card games and electronic blackjack machines. A judge ruled that the tribe could offer blackjack at its seven casinos in Florida until 2030. <\/span><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Florida House amended the Senate\u2019s gambling expansion bill with its own competing proposal on Tuesday and promptly passed it, setting the stage for a showdown on gambling reforms between the two chambers. The differing bills reflect the different political leanings of each chamber: the largely conservative House seeks to freeze gambling expansion, preserving the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":47978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Florida Gambling Expansion Stand-off Deepens as House Snubs Senate Bill<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n