Under an agreement the Seminole tribe made with the state, Thursday is the last day the tribe can offer Black Jack and other banked card games at its Florida Casinos. But it doesn’t appear the tribe will shut its tables down by the deadline.
While a tribe spokesman said in a statement the Seminoles are making “significant progress” toward negotiating a new gaming agreement with the state, the tribe has also filed a lawsuit. The Seminoles claim the state broke its agreement by approving electronic black jack games at some Florida Racinos, therefore it claims it can keep its tables open, past the deadline. Meanwhile Attorney General Pam Bondi says she’s monitoring the issue closely.
“We are confident that they are working diligently toward achieving a resolution. If they don’t, then that’s when we’ll come in and we’ll look at it,” Bondi says
Governor Rick Scott has appointed a team of lawmakers to head up negotiations with the tribe in an effort to hammer out a new plan. While the deadline for the tribe to close its tables is days away, Scott says he’s not in a rush.
“As the Governor of the State, I’m the fiduciary for the state and I’m going to make sure I take the right amount of time, to work on making sure I take care of all the tax payers of the state and the citizens of the state and with regard to that suit, my legal team is reviewing it” Scott says.
Any gaming agreement between the tribe and Florida must be approved by the state’s legislature.
