It's not exactly hush-hush. But neither does anybody want to talk on the record. Nevertheless, here it is: A new comprehensive gaming bill pushed by a consortium of gaming industry operatives is apparently close to being filed in the Florida Legislature.
Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, is fully on board. Lobbyists close to the issue say Bradley is anxious to get the contentious Seminole Compact out of committee and a doable gaming package onto the Senate Floor.
The compact has become a food fight. Besides the Seminoles, squirrelly stakeholders include the racetrack casinos (racinos), the horse racing industry, North Florida racetracks and those who oppose gambling altogether.
Will the Seminole Tribe of Florida go for a revised package? Wait 'til Week 6, lobbyists tell me. When Week 6 comes around, so will the Tribe.
Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott continues to "work" the Tribe. Scott announced Sunday afternoon he will meet in Hollywood with Seminoles at 10 a.m. Monday "to discuss the economic impact and job growth opportunities the gaming compact will have on Florida" if the Legislature approves it as-is. (See the gaming compact here.) Scott proposed a seven-year agreement with the Seminoles that would give $3 billion to the state while giving the tribe exclusive rights to craps and roulette. (It was Scott and state legislators who threw in other details -- permitting blackjack in South Florida, slots in Palm Beach County, and so forth.)
In the new legislation, what the gaming industry and now an increasing number of legislators want is for Brevard, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee and Washington -- the five counties that voted for gaming at their pari-mutuel facilities -- to get it. Behind the scenes they're trying to make it happen.
Lobbyists claim the new bill probably will allow dog tracks to "decouple" from live racing. But as the weekend approached, none of my sources were entirely certain the new legislation would spare all horse tracks from decoupling -- an action the horse racing industry claims would destroy a powerful economic engine and way of life in Florida.
"The talk certainly is to shore up the quality of Thoroughbred racing, including increasing the purse pool -- but I'm not sure about Quarter Horses or anything else," one source told me.
A political consultant close to the issue claims new legislation could ease the pain -- in fact, avoid it altogether -- if the Florida Supreme Court rules Gretna, a town in Northwest Florida, should get slots. It would obviate the need for five copycat lawsuits that otherwise would be certain to come from the other counties that approved gaming.
During Wednesday's Senate Regulated Industries Committee hearing, senators threw hints out like birdseed that a new bill is afoot. Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, for instance, wanted state economist Amy Baker to provide him with "how much revenue the state could make if all five counties were allowed to offer gaming."
In a separate issue, Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, interjected that the Legislature is about to expand gambling considerably, and to cope with it, she soon will file a comprehensive bill to establish a Florida gaming commission, taking games of chance away from the Florida Lottery, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture and putting them under one umbrella.
"Every single gaming business needs to know Florida is looking out for the people," Sachs said.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
