In Case You Missed It, and You Probably Did, Crist Ratified the Seminole Compact Today

With little fanfare and late notice to reporters, Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Wednesday afternoon a bill ratifying the Seminole gaming compact that will give the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to casino-style card games for at least five years and bring Florida at least $1 billion.

Meeting in the presence of the House and Senate's chief negotiators, Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, Crist signed one of the biggest priorities of his time as governor.

The compact gives five of the seven Seminole casinos the right to blackjack, baccarat and chemin de fer for five years, after which the Legislature can then renegotiate, and all the Seminole casinos rights to Class-III style slot machines. It also authorizes several benefits for pari-mutuels, specifically those in South Florida.

Crist's office apparently sent an e-mail out about the signing, but it didn't arrive in most reporters' inboxes until after the deed was done. Sterling Ivey, Crist's press secretary, said the governor plans to hold a ceremonial signing, probably next week.

Hooray for transparency.

Here's part of Crist's statement after the signing:

"Following three years of healthy debate and deliberation, the children and families of Florida are now the beneficiaries of much-needed money that will be used to fund critical needs such as education.

With this signing, Florida has the immediate use of $250 million, already on hand, and makes way for even more revenue to meet the needs of our state for decades to come a total of $1.2 billion during the first five years.