{"id":50657,"date":"2017-05-19T12:55:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=50657"},"modified":"2017-05-19T12:57:11","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:57:11","slug":"case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Case for Slots Expansion Bears No Fruit in Florida Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a unanimous decision, Florida\u2019s Supreme Court has ruled against\u00a0a statewide expansion of slot machine gambling. To offer more slots in more places will require more than the will of a single county,\u00a0the court determined.<\/p>\n

\"Galvano
Sen. Bill Galvano said that had the court ruled in favor of Gretna Racing, it would have created a \u201csignificant obstacle\u201d in the state\u2019s compact negotiations with the Seminole tribe. (Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The case had been brought by Gretna Racing, a race track in the small town of Gretna in Gadsden County, near the border with Georgia. Residents of Gadsden and seven other counties had voted in recent years to allow slot machines in their communities.<\/p>\n

The race track argued that a\u00a0county referendum should be enough. The state Supreme Court, however, in a 6-0 decision, begged to differ.<\/p>\n

No Dice for New Slots<\/h2>\n

\u201cThere must be \u2018statutory or constitutional authorization\u2019 for any countywide referendum approving slot machines at qualifying pari-mutuel facilities,\u201d wrote Justice Charles Canady in his decision. \u201cThe authorization must be found elsewhere in the law. And it is nowhere to be found.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the tribal Hard Rock casinos owned by the Seminoles, the only establishments in Florida authorized to install slots are the pari-mutuels of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. These include gaming venues\u00a0such as the Mardi Gras and Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach, and the Isle Casino in Pompano Beach.<\/p>\n

But they get that privilege thanks to a constitutional amendment<\/a>, approved by voters in 2004, which authorized machines specifically for those two counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like it is very good for the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe,\u201d said Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the Seminoles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sen. Bill Galvano, who sponsored a comprehensive gambling reform bill this year, echoed Bitner\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n

“This confirmation of legislative authority removes a significant obstacle in our negotiations with the Seminole Tribe,\u201d Galvano said. \u201c[Moving] forward the Legislature, rather than the courts, will determine what expansion looks like and where it takes place.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Forget about Craps (For Now)<\/h2>\n

The compact governing tribal casinos in Florida expired in 2015, and since then lawmakers, led by Galvano, have been negotiating with the Seminoles about the future of Florida\u2019s gambling landscape.<\/p>\n

\n

Galvano\u2019s bill would\u2019ve allowed eight counties across the state to add slots at their race tracks. In exchange, the Seminoles would\u2019ve been allowed to add craps and baccarat at their Hard Rock casinos, while extending the tribe\u2019s monopoly on blackjack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Senate passed Galvano\u2019s bill enthusiastically, but ultimately his plan for gambling expansion died<\/a> when multiple factions in the House opposed it, and the two chambers couldn\u2019t find a palatable compromise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a unanimous decision, Florida\u2019s Supreme Court has ruled against\u00a0a statewide expansion of slot machine gambling. To offer more slots in more places will require more than the will of a single county,\u00a0the court determined. The case had been brought by Gretna Racing, a race track in the small town of Gretna in Gadsden County, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":50665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,60,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCase for Slots Expansion Bears No Fruit in Florida Supreme Court<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a gambling expansion that would've allowed slots in eight counties where voters had approved it.\" \/>\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=\"Case for Slots Expansion Bears No Fruit in Florida Supreme Court\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a gambling expansion that would've allowed slots in eight counties where voters had approved it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/\" \/>\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=\"2017-05-19T19:55:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-19T19:57:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sen-bill-galvano.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"629\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\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\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/\",\"name\":\"Case for Slots Expansion Bears No Fruit in Florida Supreme Court\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sen-bill-galvano.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-19T19:55:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-19T19:57:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"The Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a gambling expansion that would've allowed slots in eight counties where voters had approved it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/case-for-slots-expansion-bears-no-fruit-in-florida-supreme-court\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sen-bill-galvano.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/sen-bill-galvano.png\",\"width\":1160,\"height\":629,\"caption\":\"Sen. 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