By James Call
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-896503.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – The Senate passed a gambling compact 29-9 and sent it to the House for final ratification. James Call reports that leaves two more steps before Seminole gambling becomes legal.
The Senate approved the one billion dollar gambling deal with little debate. Senator Ronda Storms was among the nine opponents. She spent six minutes and twenty seconds reciting statistics describing gamblers and the problems compulsive gamblers have to illustrate why she would vote no.
"The Florida Legislature won't even fund treatment. You'll do the help line thing where they can call and you can say well, we're sorry about that, bummer for you and your family. There is no treatment available for you even though you are probably flat broke. But on behalf of those people, I'm giving them voice today, and I say the Florida Legislature is making a mistake and the governor of the state of Florida is making a mistake to go down this road and expand gambling. So I oppose it, and I ask you to oppose it also."
The Seminoles have been trying to reach an agreement with the state for more than twenty years. The Tribe and Governor Crist since 2007 have signed three compacts; a treaty between the state and Seminole nation permitting Las Vegas style slot machines and banked card games. The Supreme Court rejected one, saying the governor overstepped his authority, and the Legislature rejected the other. The current compact, just approved by the Senate, is the first agreement in which lawmakers negotiated directly with the Tribe. Senator Dennis Jones is in his third session trying to get the Legislature to sign a deal and responded to one of Storms' assertions.
"This bill does not even expand gaming. You know in Hillsborough County, I have not been there, but there is a Hard Rock Cafe. As far as I know, it's already built. There are already patrons going there; they are already playing. What this bill or agreement does, it stops an illegal activity that's been taking place, and all of a sudden the state is starting to collect revenue because of an agreement that has eluded us in twenty-five years."
The deal allows the tribe to operate Vegas slots at all seven of its casinos and offer Blackjack, Baccarat, and Chemin de Fer at five of them. Governor Crist negotiated the first agreement in November 2007 and has consistently maintained optimism that eventually lawmakers would come to the table and make a deal. In February, before the start of the session and lawmakers' announcement that they had an agreement, he explained why he was confident the Legislature and Tribe would resolve the long standing dispute about the games the Seminoles play.
"Common sense, it's based upon that and things that I am hearing. I don't know if it is accurate, but I think there is a warming up occurring. I hope so, because there is hundreds of millions of dollars just sitting there that we could use for education and the state of Florida for our children, and I can't understand for the life of me why you wouldn't do that."
The agreement, if it passes the House, immediately frees more than $400-million for next year's budget. The money represents the state's share of gambling profits that the Seminoles deposited in a trust fund for the state since the November 2007 agreement and the first installment of the twenty-year agreement. The card games provision has a five year sunset. Jones says that provides the state and the tribe a chance to decide if the compact is a good deal.
"If it is not a good deal and we decide to expand the banked card games somewhere else, then those payments would cease. We would also have to fill that revenue hole, so it will be a look back in five years to see if we have done the right thing, or it is time to expand, or it's time to renew for another five years."
The five year look back also gives developers time to consider whether creating a tourist destination with a Vegas on the Beach theme is a good bet. The measure has been approved by a House committee that killed a previous compact and is headed to the floor. The compact will also have to be approved by the U.S. Interior Department before it goes into effect.