The Senate approved a long-awaited gaming compact Thursday that gives the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to blackjack and Vegas-style card games and nets at least $1 billion for the state.
Senators voted 29-9 in favor of the compact, moving it quickly past the floor with much praise and few complaints. The compact still needs to pass the House and be signed by the governor to be passed into law.
I was just a quarterback, but it was a privilege to see this come in for a landing, said chief Senate negotiator Dennis Jones, R-Seminole.
The compact would inject $437.5 million into the state budget this year, a possibility the Senate bet on in its proposed $69.5 billion budget.
The 20-year-deal, reached with the Seminoles on Good Friday, gives the tribe the right to blackjack, chemin de fer and baccarat for five years at five casinos in Tampa, Broward County and Immokalee, with the possibility for renewal after the five-year term expires. Casinos in Brighton and Cypress are not given exclusivity.
The deal also allows all of the states Seminole casinos to continue use of Class III slot machines for 20 years.
The Senate bill accompanying the compact also voids Gov. Charlie Crists two previously proposed compacts and offers benefits to some pari-mutuels -- Floridas dog and horse tracks and jai alai frontons. The benefits would have been enacted last year if Gov. Charlie Crists last proposed compact had been approved.
The new compact allows for pari-mutuels to have 350 video bingo or historic racing machines at their facilities. It requires that the Legislature authorize longer cardroom hours at pari-mutuels and allows them to switch from weekly to monthly license taxes. It also lowers taxes on slot machines, now only approved in South Florida .
Immediately after the Senate voted for the compact, Crist thanked Jones and Senate President Jeff Atwater for ushering quick passage in a statement.
The compact will improve the quality of life of Floridians and benefit both the tribe and our entire state, and I encourage the Florida House to take similar action as quickly as possible, the statement reads.
The only senator to vocalize a complaint against the bill on the floor was Ronda Storms, R-Valrico. Storms, who attempted to vote down the bill, said the compact did not do enough to funnel money toward treatment of gambling addiction. The compact does allocate a percentage to addiction resources but not specifically treatment. Senators voted down an amendment by Storms to reserve 1 percent of the money for treatment.
Eight senators joined Storms in opposing the bill, including Republicans Don Gaetz, who has historically opposed any expansion of gambling, and Jacksonville's Stephen Wise.
Contact Alex Tiegen at Alex.Tiegen@gmail.com or (561) 329-5389.
